HISTORIC  TOWNS 


IE  WESTERN 


American  IMstoric  Cowns 


Historic  Towns  of  New  England 

Edited  by  LYMAN  P.  POWELL.  With  Intro- 
duction by  GEORGE  P.  MORRIS.  Fully  illustrated. 
Large  8°,  net  $3.00. 

Historic  Towns  of  the  Middle  States 

Edited  by  LYMAN  P.  POWELL.  With  Intro- 
duction by  ALBERT  SHAW.  Fully  illustrated. 
Large  8°,  nef^.oo. 

Historic  Towns  of  the  Southern  States 

Edited  by  LYMAN  P.  POWELL.  With  Intro- 
duction by  W.  P.  TRENT.  Fully  illustrated. 
Large  8°,  net  $3.00. 

Historic  Towns  of  the  Western  States 

Edited  by  LYMAN  P.  POWELL.  With  Intro- 
duction by  R.  G.  THWAITES,  Fully  illustrated. 
Large  8°,  net  $3.00. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London 


THE  DEARBORN  MONUMENT. 


Frontispiece. 


Bmcrtcan  HMstoric  £own* 

HISTORIC  TOWNS 

OF 

THE  WESTERN  STATES 


Edited  by 
LPX 

LYMAN  P.  POWELL 


Illustrated 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  &  LONDON 
Cbe  fttncfcerbocfce 

IQOI 


COPYRIGHT,  October,  1901 

BV 
(;.   P.  PUTNAM'S    SONS 


"Cbc  *ntchecbochcr  press,  Hew 


PREFACE 

IN  presenting  to  the  reading  public  this 
fourth  volume  in  the  series  of  Historic 
Towns,  a  volume  which  brings  the  series  to  a 
close,  it  is  in  order  for  the  editor  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  necessarily  large  measure  of  liberty 
accorded  to  the  contributors  in  their  treatment 
of  the  records  of  the  several  towns.  With 
several  of  his  co-laborers  the  editor  has  on  one 
point  or  another  found  himself  at  variance. 
Examples  of  such  difference  of  conclusions  are 
presented  in  the  references  to  the  Mormons 
and  to  the  Mound-builders. 

The  editor  bears  in  mind,  however,  the 
essential  difference  between  editorial  responsi- 
bilities and  those  belonging  to  the  writers  of 
the  papers.  It  was  his  duty  to  choose  as  con- 
tributors not  writers  who  necessarily  share  his 
own  view,  but  those  who  are  most  fairly  repre- 
sentative of  the  towns  described,  who  possess 
the  necessary  familiarity  with  the  historic 


- 
iv  Preface 

records,  and  whose  narratives  would  be  as- 
sured of  an  appreciative  and  sympathetic  re- 
ception from  their  fellow-townsmen, — men  who 
love  their  town 

"  with  love  far-brought 
From  out  the  storied  Past,  and  used 
Within  the  Present." 

In  the  studies  of  Western  history  made  by 
the  editor  during  the  past  ten  years,  two  his- 
torians have  been  his  inspiration  :  Francis 
Parkman,  of  blessed  memory,  revered  by  all 
who  love  good  literature  and  good  history  ; 
and  Theodore  Roosevelt,  now  by  the  will  of 
God  President  of  the  United  States,  and  a 
trustworthy  and  inspiring  writer  of  our  nation's 
history  long  before  he  took  his  place  among 
its  distinguished  makers. 

In  offering  to  the  public  this  final  volume  of 
American  Historic  Towns,  the  editor  ven- 
tures to  hope  that  by  thus  focalizing  and 
localizing  Western  history,  the  publishers, 
authors,  and  editor  are  contributing  somewhat 
to  the  popular  knowledge  of  and  interest  in 
the  history  of  the  Great  West  which  Parkman 
and  Roosevelt  first  made  possible. 

Since  with  this  volume  the  series  is  brought 


Preface  v 

to  a  close,  the  editor  trusts  that  the  publishers, 
Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  will  lay  aside 
their  reluctance  to  be  mentioned  in  the  Pre- 
face, and  will  permit  the  editor  to  express  his 
admiration  and  indebtedness  for  their  share, 
larger  than  is  usual  with  publishers,  in  the 
production  of  the  series.  To  his  wife,  Ger- 
trude Wilson  Powell,  acknowledgment  is  also 
due  for  aid  given  in  this  as  in  the  earlier  vol- 
umes, the  full  value  of  which  cannot  here  be 
indicated.  Besides  making  two  important  con- 
tributions to  the  volume,  Messrs.  R.  G. 
Thwaites  and  Harold  Bolce  have  ever  been 
ready  with  suggestion  and  counsel,  always 
valued  and  almost  always  followed.  To  Doc- 
tors Talcott  Williams,  Albert  Shaw,  and 
George  Petrie,  the  editor  would  speak  this 
last  word  of  gratitude  for  cordial  and  skilled 
assistance  in  connection  not  alone  with  this 
book  but  with  the  whole  undertaking.  This 
closing  volume  now  goes  out,  with  the  edi- 
tor's best  wishes,  to  the  earlier  friends  of  the 
series  and  to  the  new  friends  yet  to  be  gained 
for  it. 

LYMAN  P.  POWELL. 

ST.  JOHN'S  RECTORY, 
LANSDOWNE,   PENNSYLVANIA, 
September  21,  1901. 


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CONTENTS 

I 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION 

.     Reuben  G.  Thwaites 

xix 

MARIETTA  . 

Muriel  Campbell  Dyar     . 

i 

CLEVELAND 

.     Charles  F.  Thwing  . 

•       3' 

CINCINNATI 

.     Milton  E.  Ailes 

•       55 

DETROIT 

Silas  Farmer     . 

.       87 

MACKINAC  . 

Sara  Andrew  Shafer 

121 

INDIANAPOLIS 

.     Perry  S.  Heath 

•        147 

VINCENNES 

.     William  Henry  Smith 

169 

CHICAGO 

Lyman  J.  Gage 

.        197 

MADISON     . 

.     Reuben  G.  Thwaites 

MINNEAPOLIS 
AND  ST.  PAUL 

-      Charles  B.  Elliott      . 

.       265 

DBS  MOINES 

Frank  I.  Herriott 

.       301 

ST.  Louis  . 

.    .William  Marion  Reedy     . 

•       33' 

KANSAS  CITY 

.     Charles  S.  Gleed      . 

•     375 

OMAHA 

.     Victor  Rosewater 

.     401 

DENVER 

John  Cotton  Dana   . 

•     425 

SANTA  FE  . 

.     Frederick  Webb  Hodge   . 

•     44$ 

vii 

viii  Contents 


PAGE 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  James  Edward  Talmage  .         .     479 

SPOKANE     .         .  Harold  Bolce  ....     509 

PORTLAND  .         .  Thomas  L.  Cole       .         .         .     535 

SAN  FRANCISCO  .  Edwin  Markham      .         .         .     569 

MONTEREY          .  Harold  Bolce  .         .         .         .617 

Los  ANGELES  Florence  E.  Winslow       .         .     645 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  DEARBORN  MONUMENT          .        .        .          Frontispiece 

MARIETTA 

MARIETTA 3 

GENERAL  RUFUS  PUTNAM 7 

OLD  BLOCKHOUSE,  MARIETTA 9 

THE  MILLS  HOMESTEAD,  MARIETTA       .        .        .        .        .17 

HARMAN  BLENNERHASSETT 19 

MRS.  BLENNERHASSETT 21 

MARIETTA  COLLEGE  BUILDINGS 23 

MOUND  CEMETERY,  MARIETTA 25 

OHIO  COMPANY'S  LAND  OFFICE      ......  27 

OLD  Two  HORN  CHURCH 29 

CLEVELAND 

VIEW  IN  GORDON  PARK  .        . 33 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  CLEVELAND 35 

SOLDIERS'  AND  SAILORS'  MONUMENT,  CLEVELAND  ...  38 

ARMORY  OF  THE  CLEVELAND  GRAYS 42 

LAKE  IN  WADE  PARK,  SHOWING  ADELBERT  COLLEGE  IN  THE 

DISTANCE .45 

PERRY'S  MONUMENT,  WADE  PARK,  CLEVELAND      ...  48 

ix 


x  Illustrations 

PAGE 

CHARLES  F.  BROWNE  ("  ARTEMUS  WARIJ  ")  ...      49 

CONSTANCE  FENIMORE  WOOLSON 50 

GARFIF.LD  MEMORIAL,  CLEVELAND 52 

CINCINNATI 

TYLER-DAVIDSON  FOUNTAIN 59 

ENTRANCE  TO  SPRING  GROVE  CEMETERY        ....  65 

RACE  STREET,  CINCINNATI bg 

CITY  HALL,  CINCINNATI 73 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  CINCINNATI 77 

SUSPENSION  BRIDGE 79 

RESERVOIR,  EDEN  PARK 83 

DETROIT 

CADILLAC  SQUARE    SHOWING    CITY    HALL  AND   MAJESTIC 

BUILDING 89 

THE  DETROIT  RIVER  FROM  "WINDMILL  POINT,"  1838   .        .      93 

From  a  Pencil  Drawing. 

WEST  GRAND  CIRCUS  PARK 97 

WAYXE  COUNTY  BUILDING,  FACING  CADILLAC  SQUARE  .  .  103 
COLONEL  ARENT  SCHUYLER  DE  PEYSTER  .  .  .  .112 
EVACUATION  DAY  TABLET,  ON  POST-OFFICE  .  .  .113 

GENERAL  GRANT'S  HOME  IN  DETROIT     .  .        .        .115 

HURLBUT  MEMORIAL  GATE  ENTRANCE    TO  WATER-WORKS 

PARK 117 

,       MACKINAC  ISLAND 

OLD  MISSION  CHURCH  (CIRCA)  1823,  MACKINAC  ISLAND  .  123 
ARCH  ROCK,  MACKINAC  ISLAND .127 


Illustrations  xi 

PAGE 

SUGAR  LOAF  ROCK,  MACKINAC  ISLAND 131 

OLD  BLOCKHOUSE  (1780)  OVERLOOKING  THE  LAKE  .  .  135 
"  OLD  STONE  QUARTERS,"  FORT  MACKINAC,  1780.  .  .  137 
SIGNATURES  OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  CHIEFS,  WHO,  IN  1781, 

DEEDED  THE  ISLAND  TO  KING  GEORGE  III  .        .        .     139 
From  "  Mackinac,"  by  John   R.   Bailey,   M.   D.,  Brevet 
Lieut. -Col.,  U.  S.  V.,  by  whose  kind  permission  they 
are  here  reproduced. 

FORT  MACKINAC,  AND  THE  CANNON  CAPTURED  BY  COMMO- 
DORE PERRY 

REV.  ELEAZAR  WILLIAMS 

Reproduced  from  Latimer's  "Scrap-Book  of  the  Revolu- 
tion," by  permission  of  A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co. 

INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  OLD  STATE  HOUSE,  INDIANAPOLIS         149 

THE  NEW  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  INDIANAPOLIS    .        •        .        .151 

BKNJAMIN  HARRISON 153 

STATE  HOUSE,  INDIANAPOLIS,  EAST  FRONT   .        .        .        .155 

SOLDIERS'  MONUMENT,  INDIANAPOLIS 159 

MARION  COUNTY  COURT  HOUSE 161 

COLUMBIA  CLUB,  INDIANAPOLIS 163 

THE  HENDRICKS  MONUMENT 165 

VINCENNES 
EARLY  FRENCH  SETTLERS  AT  VINCENNES        ....     175 

FORT  SACKVILLE,  1779 i~9 

CLARK  AND  His  MEN  CROSSING  THE  RIVER  .  .  .  .  '  181 
GENERAL  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK 187 


xii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON 192 

ST.  XAVIER'S  CHURCH,  1779 193 

CHICAGO 

THE  DEARBORN  MONUMENT 203 

THE  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT  BUILDING,  CHICAGO        .  207 

AUDITORIUM  HOTEL,  CHICAGO 211 

THE  ART  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO 215 

STATUE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 219 

By  St.  Gaudens. 

RUINS  OF  THE  GREAT  FIRE,  CHICAGO 223 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  CHICAGO 231 

MADISON 

THE  STATE  HOUSE,  MADISON 237 

THE  FIRST  EXECUTIVE  RESIDENCE  (STILL  STANDING)  IN  USE 

BY  GOVERNOR  DOTY 241 

PROFILE  ROCK  ON  LAKE  MENDOTA 244 

VIEW  OF  MADISON  ACROSS  LAKE  MONONA      ....  247 

THE  FIRST  STATE  HOUSE,  MADISON 251 

MADISON  FROM  THE  STATE  HOUSE,  SHOWING  UNIVERSITY 

BUILDINGS  IN  THE  DISTANCE 253 

PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  FRANCIS  ALLEN 254 

UNIVERSITY  HALL,  STATE  UNIVERSITY 257 

STATE  HISTORICAL  LIBRARY  BUILDING 259 

GENERAL  Lucius  FAIRCHILD 262 

Ex-Minister  to  Spain. 

MINNEAPOLIS  AND  ST.  PAUL 
THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY  ABOUT  1850      .        .        .        .267 


Illustrations  xiii 

PAGE 

TOWER  AT  FORT  SNELLING 269 

The  Original  "  Fort  "  now  used  as  a  Guard-House. 

ALEXANDER  RAMSEY 272 

COURT  HOUSE  AND  CITY  HALL,  MINNEAPOLIS        .        .        .  275 

FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY  DURING  HIGH  WATER       .        .        .  279 

THE  MILLING  DISTRICT 281 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  MINNEAPOLIS 284 

OLE  BULL  MONUMENT  IN  LORING  PARK         ....  286 

LORING  PARK,  MINNEAPOLIS 289 

THE  FALLS  OF  MINNEHAHA 291 

THE  CAPITOL,  ST.  PAUL 295 

A  CALM  EVENING    .        .      - 299 

DES   MOINES 

FORT  DES  MOINES  IN  1844 303 

KEOKUK  AT  THE  AGE  OF  67 307 

From  a  Daguerreotype  taken  in  1847. 

IOWA  SOLDIERS'  AND  SAILORS'  MONUMENT     ....  315 

GOVERNOR  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 319 

HON.  JOHN  A.  KASSON 324 

THE  CAPITOL,  DES  MOINES    . 325 

THE  IOWA  HISTORICAL  LIBRARY 327 

ST.  LOUIS 

COLONEL  AUGUSTE  CHOUTEAU,  ONE  OF  THE  FOUNDERS  OF 

ST.  Louis 334 

From  a  painting  in  Missouri  Historical  Society  Collection. 

THE  OLD  CHOUTEAU  MANSION,  BUILT  FOR  LACLEDE  IN  1765  336 
From   a  Daguerreotype   in    Missouri    Historical    Society 
Collection. 


xiv  Illustrations 

PAGE 

OLD  FRENCH  POST-HOUSE,  BUILT  IN  1770,  INHABITED  UNTIL 

1870 34i 

OLD  MOUND,  ST.  Louis.      REMOVED  IN  1869        .        .        .  346 
From  a  photograph  in  Missouri  Historical  Society  Collection. 

WASHINGTON  UNIVERSITY  AS  PROJECTED,  NOW  UNDER  CON- 
STRUCTION       359 

ST.  Louis  IN  1854 365 

From  a  print  in  Missouri  Historical  Society  Collection. 

EADS  BRIDGE  AT  ST.  Louis 367 

FORKST  PARK,  ST.  Louis 369 

UNION  STATION,  ST.  Louis 371 

KANSAS   CITY 

KANSAS  CITY  FROM  THE  SOUTH 377 

JACKSON  COUNTY  COURT  HOUSE,  KANSAS  CITY     .        .        .  379 

CONVENTION  HALL,  KANSAS  CITY 383 

THE  CITY  HALL,  KANSAS  CITY 387 

THE  POST  OFFICE,  KANSAS  CITY 391 

A  BIT  OF  GLADSTONE  BOULEVARD,  KANSAS  CITY  .        .        .  393 

THE  STOCK  YARD  EXCHANGE,  KANSAS  CITY  ....  396 

THE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  KANSAS  CITY 397 

OMAHA 

ALFRED  D.  JONES 402 

WILLIAM  P.  SNOWDEN,  OMAHA'S  FIRST  WHITE  SETTLER       .  404 

A  TYPICAL  OMAHA  INDIAN 407 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  F.  A.  Rinehart,  Omaha. 

THE  HIGH  SCHOOL,  OMAHA,   ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE  OLD 

CAPITOL 4" 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Heyn,  Omaha. 


Illustrations  xv 

PAGE 

THE  CITY  HALL 414 

RETURN  OF  THE  FIRST  NEBRASKA  VOLUNTEERS,  AUG.  30,  1899  417 

THE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  OMAHA 419 

THE  OMAHA  EXPOSITION,  1898 421 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  F.  A.  Rinehart,  Omaha. 

DENVER 

SOURCES  OF  TERRITORIAL  ACQUISITION  IN  COLORADO    .        .  427 

DENVER,  COLORADO 429 

"SMOKY"  JONES 431 

THE  PRAIRIE  SCHOONER,  THE  PROPER  CREST  FOR  THE  COAT- 

OF-ARMS  OF  THE  WEST 433 

FIRST  SCHOOLHOUSK  IN  DENVER 435 

FACSIMILE  LETTER  FROM  WM.  N.  BYERS,  THE  FOUNDER  OF 

THE  "  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NEWS  "        ....  439 

PROSPECTING  PARTY,  Rico,  COLORADO,  1880         .        .        .  441 

Rico,  COLORADO,  IN  1880,  A  TYPICAL  MINING  CAMP     .        .  443 

WILLIAM  GILPIN 444 

THE  CAPITOL,  DENVER 445 

SANTA  FE 

THE  SO-CALLED  OLDEST  HOUSE  IN  SANTA  FE        .        .        .451 

FORT  MARCY  AND  THE  PARROQUIA,  SANTA  FE  455 

SAN  MIGUEL  CHAPEL  BEFORE  ITS  RESTORATION      .        .        .  457 

SAN  MIGUEL  CHAPEL  IN  1899 465 

From  a  photograph  by  A.  C.  Vroman,  Pasadena,  Cal. 

CHRISTOPHER  ("  KIT")  CARSON 467 

THE  OLD  PALACE  AT  SANTA  FE 471 

SANTA  FE  IN  1846 473 

THE  TERRITORIAL  CAPITOL,  COMPLETED  IN  1900   .         .        .  474 


xvi  Illustrations 

PAGB 

SALT   LAKE   CITY 

PAVILION  OF  SALTAIR,  GREAT  SALT  LAKE      ....  481 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG 483 

Founder  of  Salt  Lake  City. 

EAST  TEMPLE  STREET,  LOOKING  SOUTH  FROM  THE  TEMPLE  .  485 

JEDEDIAH  M.  GRANT,  FIRST  MAYOR  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY      .  491 

EAGLE  GATE 492 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG  MONUMENT 495 

MAIN  STREET  IN  1861 497 

HOUSE  BUILT  IN  1847  WITHIN  THE  OLD  FORT        .        .        .  499 

MORMON  TEMPLE 501 

MORMON  TABERNACLE ,  503 

CITY  AND  COUNTY  BUILDING,  SALT  LAKE  CITY      .        .        .505 

LION  AND  BEE-HIVE  HOUSES 506 

SPOKANE 

THE  COUNTY  COURT  HOUSE,  SPOKANE 511 

THE    LAST    CHIEF  TO  INTIMIDATE    THE   INHABITANTS  OF 

SPOKANE 516 

THE  CITY  HALL,  SPOKANE 519 

J.  KENNEDY  STOUT 522 

THE   "  SPOKESMAN-REVIEW  "  BUILDING        ....  525 

MIDDLE  FALLS,  SPOKANE 529 

MIDDLE    FALLS,    ECHO    FLOUR  MILLS,  AND   OLD  POWER 

HOUSE 531 

PORTLAND 

JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR 537 

ASTORIA  IN  181 1 54* 

Based  on  a  print  in  Gray's  "  History  of  Oregon." 


Illustrations  xvii 

PAGE 

FORT  VANCOUVER,  1833- 545 

THE  CITY  HALL,  PORTLAND 555 

PORTLAND  IN  1850 557 

THE  PORT  OF  PORTLAND 559 

JUDGE  MATTHEW  P.  DEADY 560 

VIEW  OF  PORTLAND,  1900 .561 

A  CORNER  IN  CHINATOWN 563 

THE  PORTLAND 565 

SAN   FRANCISCO 

VIEW  NORTHWEST  FROM  SPRECKEL'S  BUILDING      .        •.        .  571 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY        ....  575 
From  the  painting  by  A.  F.  Mathews. 

MISSION  DOLORES,  BUILT  IN  1776 577 

SEAL  OF  THE  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE 588 

UNION  DEPOT 597 

CHINESE  PHARMACY 599 

CHINESE  GROCERY  STORE       .        .        ...        .        .        .  603 

SMOKING  ROOM,  CHINESE  RESTAURANT 604 

A  BUSINESS  CENTRE .  605 

PRAYER-BOOK  CROSS,  GOLDEN  GATE  PARK     .        .       •.  608 

SEAL  ROCK  AND  CLIFF  HOUSE 609 

CITY  HALL,  SAN  FRANCISCO 6n 

LELAND  STANFORD 612 

THOMAS  STARR  KING      . 613 

HENRY  GEORGE 615 

MONTEREY 

SERRA,  FOUNDER  OF  MONTEREY     .        .        .        .  618 


xviii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

CARMEL  MISSION  (RESTORED)         . 620 

TWILIGHT,  MONTEREY  BAY 621 

SAN  CARLOS  CHURCH 624 

OLD  MEXICAN  JAIL 630 

FISHING  VILLAGE 636 

ANCIENT  CYPRESS  AT  CYPRESS  POINT 637 

STATUE  OF  JUNfpERO  SERRA 638 

OLD  MEXICAN  CUSTOM-HOUSE 641 

ANCIENT  ADOBE  CABIN,  MONTEREY 642 

LOS  ANGELES 

BELLS  OF  SAN  GABRIEL 647 

SAN  DIEGO  MISSION,  FOUNDED  1769 649 

THK  PUEBLO  OF    Los    ANGELES.     EARLY  SPANISH   PLAN.  653 
Suertes  from  C.  to  E. 

DON  Pio  Pico 655 

The  Last  Mexican  Governor. 

DON  ANTONIO  F.  CORONEL,  WITH  SPANISH  CANNON  BROUGHT 

TO  SAN  DIEGO  BY  SERRA  IN  1769 .        .        .        ,  657 

THE  OLD  PLAZA  CHURCH,  Los  ANGELES        ....  659 

A  TYPICAL, COTTAGE 663 

JOHN  C.  FREMONT 666 

OLD  ADOBE,  FREMONT'S  HEADQUARTERS        .        .        .        .671 

FIRST  STAGE  IN  THE  ASCENT  OF  MT.   LOWE,  CONNECTING 

WITH  ELECTRIC  ROAD  ON  ECHO  MOUNTAIN.        .        .  673 

A  MODERN  RESIDENCE 677 

STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 679 

THE  COURT  HOUSE,  Los  ANGELES 681 

IMPROVED  HARBOR  OF  SAN  PEDRO,  PORT  OF  Los  ANGELES    .  683 


INTRODUCTION 

BY  REUBEN  G.  THWAITES 

THE  first  two  volumes  of  this  series — those 
devoted  to  the  historic  towns  of  New 
England  and  the  Middle  States — dealt  with 
communities  each  group  of  which  has  had  for 
the  most  part  a  common  origin,  has  progressed 
along  practically  parallel  lines,  and  possesses 
characteristics  closely  akin.  The  volume  upon 
the  towns  of  the  South  brought  closely  to 
view  the  cosmopolitan  character  of  the  popu- 
lation which  has  settled  our  continent  to  the 
South  and  Southwest  of  the  Appalachian  wall. 
The  stories  of  Baltimore,  Washington,  Rich- 
mond, Charleston,  Savannah,  and  St.  Augus- 
tine bring  into  view  widely-different  origins, 
experiences,  and  interests  along  a  single 
stretch  of  coast  ;  while  Mobile  and  New  Or- 
leans, Knoxville,  Nashville,  and  Louisville, 
Vicksburg  and  Little  Rock,  are  groups  repre- 


xx  Introduction 

senting  chapters  in  our  history  which  appear 
to  have  but  slight  connection  save  in  the  view 
of  those  who  have  closely  studied  the  main- 
springs of  American  development. 

The  present  volume  represents  even  a  wider 
range  of  historical  interest.  The  attentive 
reader  will,  however,  discover  that  although 
these  towns  of  the  far-stretching  trans-Alle- 
ghany  region  have  sprung  from  curiously 
divergent  beginnings,  and  are  apparently  incon- 
gruous in  composition  and  in  aims,  there  really 
is  and  has  been  much  in  common  among  them. 

In  order  to  understand  Western  history,  one 
must  first  have  knowledge  of  the  details  of 
the  titanic  struggle  for  settlement  in  North 
America,  made  respectively  by  Spain,  France, 
and  England.  The  early  decline  of  Spanish 
power  north  of  the  Red  and  the  Arkansas, 
save  for  the  later  temporary  holding  of  Louis- 
iana ;  the  protracted  tragedy  which  ended  on 
the  Plains  of  Abraham  in  the  Fall  of  New 
France ;  the  Revolution  of  the  English  colon- 
ists, and  its  portentous  results ;  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  of  1803 ;  the  Mexican  War,  the 
episode  of  California,  the  story  of  Texas,  with 
their  consequent  ousting  of  Spain  from  lands 
north  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Gila — all 


Introduction  xxi 

these  are  factors  bearing  the  closest  relation 
to  the  history  of  the  West,  and  consequently 
of  many  of  the  historic  towns  whose  stories 
have  been  grouped  within  these  covers. 

With  these  episodes  of  national  rivalry,  and 
consequent  diplomacy  and  war,  were  inti- 
mately concerned  the  French  fur-trade  out- 
posts of  Detroit,  Mackinac,  Vincennes,  and  St. 
Louis,  links  in  the  forted  chain  which  bound 
Canada  and  Louisiana,  and  by  means  of  which 
it  was  sought  to  form  a  barrier  against  the 
Westward  growth  of  the  English  colonies ; 
also  the  Spanish  stations  of  San  Francisco, 
Monterey,  Los  Angeles,  and  Santa  Fe,  which 
were  at  once  political  vantage  points  and  mis- 
sion seats,  for  the  spread  of  Spanish  power 
and  civilization  from  Mexico,  among  the  brown 
barbarians  of  the  North.  St.  Louis  experi- 
enced both  French  and  Spanish  regimes,  while 
Mackinac,  Detroit,  and  Vincennes  were  much 
affected  by  the  period  of  English  occupancy. 

As  settlement  grew  upon  the  Atlantic  coast, 
the  English  frontier  was  inevitably  pushed 
farther  and  farther  from  tidewater.  The 
hunter  followed  his  game  westward ;  so  the 
forest  trader,  seeking  the  ever-receding  camps 
of  the  aborigines,  and,  in  due  course,  the 


xxii  Introduction 

raiser  of  cattle,  horses,  and  swine  who  needed 
fresh  pastures  for  his  herds  as  tillage  steadily 
encroached  upon  the  wild  lands  of  the  border. 
At  first  timorously  occupying  the  valleys  and 
foothills  of  the  eastern  slopes,  hunter,  trader, 
and  grazier,  each  in  his  turn,  cautiously  fol- 
lowed buffalo  traces  and  Indian  war-paths  over 
the  crest  of  the  great  range,  and  hailed  with 
glee  waters  descending  into  the  mysterious 
West.  Not  less  formidable  than  the  barriers 
reared  by  nature  were  those  interposed  by  the 
savage,  who  with  dismay  saw  his  hunting 
grounds  fast  dwindling  under  the  sway  of  the 
land-grabbing  English ;  and  by  the  jealous 
machinations  of  the  military  agents  and  fur 
traders  of  New  France,  who  brooked  no 
rivalry  in  their  commercial  exploitation  of  the 
forest. 

When  New  France  fell,  the  English  crown 
strictly  forbade  further  settlement  in  the  back 
country.  This  order  was  issued  upon  the  rep- 
resentations of  London  merchants  interested, 
as  had  been  the  merchant  adventurers  of 
France,  in  preserving  the  forest  for  the  Indians 
and  the  fur  trade ;  the  ministry  were  not  un- 
mindful also  that  the  bold  and  liberty-loving 
frontiersmen  who  crossed  the  mountains  might 


Introduction  xxiii 

come  to  consider  English  political  control  as 
unessential  to  their  being. 

This  policy  was,  however,  diametrically  op- 
posed to  the  policy  of  the  border.  The  fertile 
fields  of  the  West  were  far  from  the  observa- 
tion of  London  officials,  the  spirit  of  unrest 
and  the  desire  for  gain  laughed  at  royal  procla- 
mations, and  the  trans-Alleghany  movement 
but  gathered  force.  By  the  opening  of  the 
Revolution,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  were 
practically  staked  out ;  by  its  close,  Americans 
were  sole  white  masters  of  the  West  to  the 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  save  for  a  brief  hold- 
ing by  the  British  of  Detroit,  Mackinac,  and 
other  upper  lake  posts,  as  security  for  treaty 
obligations  as  yet  unfulfilled. 

It  had  been  the  custom  of  England  to  grant 
lands  for  military  service  ;  the  American  col- 
onies had  likewise  liberally  rewarded  their  de- 
fenders in  the  Indian  wars ;  Revolutionary 
soldiers  were  now  given  free  access  to  the  broad 
acres  of  the  West,  the  direct  result  of  this  policy 
being  the  settlementsof  Marietta  andCleveland. 

Water  courses  have  ever  been  of  the  high- 
est importance  in  determining  the  lines  of 
continental  settlement.  The  river  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  great  lakes  offered  to  the  people 


xxiv  Introduction 

of  New  France  a  continual  invitation  to  ex- 
plore the  regions  whence  they  flowed.  It  was 
not  long  before  the  French  found  that  the 
sources  of  south-  and  west-flowing  waters  were 
not  far  from  the  banks  of  the  eastering  water- 
ways upon  which  they  dwelt.  By  ascending 
short  tributaries,  and  carrying  their  light  craft 
along  practicable  paths,  or  portages,  first  used 
by  the  Indians,  they  could  re-launch  into 
strange  and  devious  paths  which  led  to  all 
parts  of  the  continental  interior — the  Ohio, 
the  Mississippi,  the  Assiniboine,  and  their 
multifarious  affluents  and  connections.  Thus 
easily  did  New  France  spread  along  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  lakes,  over  into  the  Ohio 
and  the  Mississippi,  and  down  their  gliding 
channels  to  New  Orleans  and  the  sea. 

In  crossing  the  Alleghanies,  the  English 
sought  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries — the  Alle- 
ghany,  the  Monongahela,  the  Cumberland, 
the  Tennessee,  the  Kanawha,  the  Big  Sandy. 
The  Ohio  was  long  the  chief  gateway  to  the 
West.  Upon  this  royal  path  into  the  wil- 
derness, the  Ohio  Company  sent  Christopher 
Gist  to  prospect  and  report ;  for  its  pos- 
session, France  and  England  came  to  final 
blows  through  the  action  at  Fort  Necessity 


Introduction  xxv 

of  Major  Washington,  than  whom  no  man 
knew  the  Ohio  better ;  it  was  an  approach  to 
Kentucky  more  inviting  than  Boone's  Wilder- 
ness Road,  through  Cumberland  Gap  ;  Clark's 
flotilla  came  swooping  down  the  great  river  to 
conquer  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes ;  and,  the 
Revolution  ended,  Rufus  Putnam  and  his 
fellow  veterans  from  New  England  claimed 
their  military  land  grants  along  this  conti- 
nental highway,  at  Marietta.  Cincinnati,  also, 
was  an  outpost  deliberately  planted  upon  the 
great  pathway  to  the  West,  although  other- 
wise differing  in  genesis.  It  was  by  the  Great 
Lakes,  that  other  principal  approach  to  the 
West,  that  Moses  Cleaveland  founded  the  set- 
tlement of  Revolutionary  soldiers  who  were 
redeeming  their  land  warrants  in  New  Con- 
necticut, or  the  Western  Reserve — an  incident 
closely  connecting  Ohio  with  colonial  history. 
Early  in  the  Western  experiences  of  the 
new  nation,  came  Indian  wars.  These  resulted 
in  treaties  whereunder  the  defeated  tribesmen 
were  either  forbidden  to  enter  defined  areas 
of  settlement,  or  were  confined  within  specific 
reservations.  This  necessitated  the  construc- 
tion of  rude  but  effective  frontier  forts,  which 
not  unfrequently  proved  the  nuclei  of  hamlets 


xxvi  Introduction 

that  grew  into  considerable  towns.  Sometimes 
these  forts  were  essential  to  the  direct  protec- 
tion of  the  white  settlers,  who,  upon  occasion 
of  alarm,  flew  to  cover  within  the  log  palisades, 
which  were  stout  enough  to  resist  a  barbaric 
foe  unpossessed  of  artillery ;  such  was  Fort 
Washington,  which  in  time  became  Cincinnati. 

The  forest  trade  was  long  the  chief  and  only 
commercial  interest  in  the  West,  and  at  certain 
points  garrisoned  forts  were  necessary  to  serve 
the  traders  as  depots  and  as  havens  of  refuge  ; 
this  was  the  part  played  by  Detroit,  Mackinac, 
Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Vincennes,  and  St.  Louis. 
In  the  case  of  Des  Moines,  the  fort  was  estab- 
lished for  the  protection  of  a  group  of  reserva- 
tion Indians  who  might  otherwise  have  fallen 
victims  to  a  superior  savage  foe. 

Agricultural  settlers  rapidly  took  up  lands. 
Battle  against  it  as  he  would, — and  the  early 
history  of  the  border  is  a  piteous  tale  of  man's 
inhumanity  to  man, — the  dispossessed  savage 
found  this  army  of  occupation  impregnable. 
As  the  frontier  moved  to  the  westward  of  the 
Mississippi,  it  was  accompanied  by  the  Indians 
and  the  fur  trade.  Territories  were  erected 
by  Congress  out  of  the  lands  of  the  ousted 
Iroquois  and  Algonkins,  and  these  political 


Introduction  xxvii 

divisions  were  soon  admitted  to  the  Union 
as  states  ;  mines  were  exploited,  forests  were 
depleted,  miscellaneous  industries  were  cre- 
ated, and  these  new  interests  not  only  pro- 
foundly affected  the  old  towns,  but  gave  rise 
to  a  new  order  of  cities. 

Indianapolis  and  Madison  are  examples  of 
town  sites  staked  out  in  virgin  forests  by  am- 
bitious and  imaginative  speculators,  and,  be- 
fore a  house  could  be  built,  set  aside  by  statute 
as  capitals  of  their  respective  young  common- 
wealths. It  is  not  always  that  towns  thus 
artificially  planted  have  similarly  thriven.  Un- 
der normal  conditions,  a  successful  city  is  as 
much  a  matter  of  natural  growth  as  a  tree, 
whose  germ  has  chanced  to  fall  in  favored  soil. 
Many,  perhaps  most,  Western  towns  of  import- 
ance, that  were  planted  before  the  days  of  the 
railroad,  when  waterways  were  highways,  are 
upon  the  sites  of  early  villages  of  aborigines, 
who  made  their  stands  at  natural  vantage 
points — at  a  river  mouth,  convenient  for  trans- 
portation, or  close  to  considerable  fishing 
grounds  ;  at  a  waterfall,  because  here  fish  are 
plenty,  and  canoes  must  be  carried  around  the 
obstruction,  so  that  the  villagers  are  masters 
of  the  highway  ;  upon  a  portage  path,  because 


xxviii  Introduction 

of  ease  in  reaching  and  controlling  divergent 
water  systems  ;  upon  a  bluff  overlooking 
waterways,  for  facility  of  observation  and  con- 
trol ;  upon  a  fertile  river  bottom,  because  of 
good  corn  lands.  In  due  time,  whites  came 
to  such  a  centre  of  population  and  established 
a  trading  post  ;  here  and  there,  as  at  Detroit, 
Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Vincennes,  and  Kansas 
City  (Westport),  the  post  in  due  time  de- 
veloped into  a  garrisoned  fort ;  and  the  sur- 
rounding community,  at  first  dependent  on  the 
fur  trade  or  the  military,  under  modern  con- 
ditions became  a  town  of  importance.  Scores, 
possibly  hundreds,  of  such  examples  might  be 
cited  ;  and  even  when  some  thrifty  towns  of 
the  West  appear  at  first  sight  to  have  no  con- 
nection with  such  a  past,  antiquarians  have  not 
infrequently  discovered  evidences  that  sub- 
stantially the  same  reasons  which  before  the 
railway  era  had  led  civilized  men  to  select  the 
site,  caused  its  previous  occupancy  by  aborig- 
ines— sometimes  at  so  early  a  day  that  the 
only  remaining  relics  are  the  curious  earth- 
works which  the  progenitors  of  our  Western 
Indians,  prompted  by  religious  fervor,  con- 
structed anywhere  from  two  and  a  half  to  ten 
centuries  ago. 


Introduction  xxix 

Minneapolis  and  Spokane,  both  of  them  old 
Indian  sites,  are  the  direct  outgrowth  of  the 
superb  water-powers  which  have  given  them 
pre-eminence  in  the  industrial  world. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Great  Lakes  and  the 
great  rivers  were  the  paths  to  the  Mississippi 
basin  in  the  days  of  the  canoe,  the  bateau, 
and  the  pack-horse.  The  early  movement  of 
population  over  the  trans-Mississippi  plains 
and  through  the  passes  of  the  Rockies  was 
by  means  of  wagons  along  well-worn  buffalo 
traces,  which  Indians  had  followed  in  the  pur- 
suit of  game.  Where  rivers  intersected  these 
overland  trails,  ferries  were  instituted,  their 
keepers  doing  a  thriving  business  in  helping 
upon  their  way  fur  traders,  explorers,  miners, 
and  settlers.  Such  was  the  origin  of  Kansas 
City  and  Omaha,  which  naturally  developed, 
with  the  rush  of  immigration,  into  great  centres 
of  distribution.  In  every  quarter  of  our  land, 
from  the  earliest  colonial  days,  the  frontier 
ferryman,  with  his  tavern  and  trading  house, 
has  been  a  town  builder. 

The  discovery  of  precious  metals  in  the  hills 
of  Colorado  gave  life  to  the  mining  camp  of 
Denver,  which  in  time  became  the  metropolis 
of  a  wide  district,  to  which  irrigation  brought 


xxx  Introduction 

a  wealth  more  enduring  than  gold  and 
silver. 

Portland,  San  Francisco,  and  Los  Angeles 
are  the  open  doors  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  and 
their  growth  is  thus  easily  accounted  for. 
Prophecies  are  current  of  the  possible  com- 
mercial supremacy  of  these  Pacific-coast  towns, 
as  a  consequence  of  our  new  interests  in  the 
Far  East.  It  is  curious,  in  this  connection,  to 
remember  that  Spain's  motive  in  founding  her 
California  colonies,  four  generations  ago,  was, 
on  the  temporal  side,  the  more  strongly  to 
establish  herself  in  the  Philippines. 

Strangest  of  all  stories  is  that  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  the  product  of  religious  zeal  seeking  a 
supposedly  inaccessible  desert  as  a  haven  from 
persecution.  Finally,  when  the  laborious  de- 
velopment of  the  wilderness  has  brought  rich 
fruitage,  this  hermit  city  finds  itself  a  station 
on  one  of  the  world's  most-travelled  highways. 

The  coming  of  the  railway,  and  the  conse- 
quent practical  abandonment  of  the  waterway, 
wrought  a  profound  change  in  the  fortunes  of 
the  Western  towns.  The  railway  paid  small 
heed  to  watercourses,  save  in  mountainous 
country  ;  it  struck  out  upon  short-cuts  over  the 
plains  and  prairies,  almost  regardless  of  topog- 


Introduction  xxxi 

raphy.  Hundreds  of  staid  and  promising  river 
and  lake  towns  received  a  staggering  blow 
when,  for  various  reasons, — sometimes  their 
own  failure  to  encourage  the  enterprise, — the 
railway  passed  them  by  and  entered  rival  and 
often  less  pretentious  communities,  which  now 
were  quickened  into  new  vigor.  A  more  favor- 
able situation  for  a  bridge  across  the  stream 
was  often  the  determining  factor  which  caused 
several  towns  upon  a  river  to  die  and  the  for- 
tunate one  to  be  transformed  into  a  metropolis. 
The  arbitrary  erection  throughout  the  West  of 
new  paths  of  commerce,  of  new  centres  of  dis- 
tribution, during  the  decade  and  a  half  before 
the  War  of  Secession,  was  of  itself  a  revolu- 
tionary element  in  urban  history. 

Almost  as  profound  in  its  effects  was  the 
practically  contemporaneous  dispersion  through 
this  vast  territory  of  millions  of  European  im- 
migrants, who  came  to  open  farms,  to  practise 
trades,  and  in  city  and  in  village  to  carryforward, 
often  to  inaugurate,  hundreds  of  new  commer- 
cial and  industrial  enterprises.  The  new-com- 
ers brought  strange  habits  of  thought  and 
social  customs  ;  some  of  the  most  desirable  of 
these  they  engrafted  upon  their  American 
neighbors,  while  at  the  same  time  they  them- 


xxxii  Introduction 

selves  were  being  consciously  or  unconsciously 
remoulded  into  American  citizens — who,  what- 
ever may  be  said,  will  always  be  essentially  but 
transplanted  Englishmen  modified  by  environ- 
ment and  political  education. 

Of  the  many  nationalities  of  the  European 
continent  which  have  planted  stakes  in  North 
America,  the  Germans  and  the  Scandinavians, 
closely  allied  to  our  Anglo-Saxon  stock,  have 
been  the  most  numerous  and  have  exercised 
the  greatest  influence.  Many  considerable 
towns,  like  Cincinnati,  Detroit,  St.  Louis,  and 
Omaha,  have  become  strongly  German,  with 
not  a  few  of  the  characteristics  of  old  Germany, 
such  as  are  evinced  in  a  general  fostering  of 
music  and  rational  outdoor  recreation.  The 
Scandinavian  element  vies  good-naturedly  with 
the  German,  as  at  Madison  and  Chicago ; 
while  Minneapolis  may  be  considered  as  the 
centre  of  Scandinavian  influence,  fostering 
sturdy  democracy  and  tenacious  enterprise. 

In  the  large  towns  which  have  their  roots 
planted  in  New  France,  the  French  element  is 
no  longer  of  considerable  importance.  The 
French  borderer  was  a  vivacious,  fun-loving, 
easy-going  fellow,  and  upon  the  road  to  mod- 
ern opulence  and  power  has  long  since  been 


Introduction  xxxiii 

passed ;  to-day,  as  an  urban  dweller,  he  is  not 
seriously  reckoned  with  by  the  politician,  and 
this  is  a  safe  guide  to  the  relative  standing  of 
a  race  in  any  American  city.  The  towns 
which  we  have  more  recently  inherited  from 
Spain  still  possess,  in  their  older  quarters, 
strong  characteristics  to  link  them  with  the 
past.  Here  and  there,  as  with  the  French, 
individual  Spaniards  or  mixed-bloods  rise  into 
prominence  in  our  modern  life — but  only 
through  the  channel  of  Americanization,  which 
means  effacement  of  the  old  regime.  Spanish 
traits  have  left  permanent  traces  on  the  South- 
west and  the  Pacific,  as  some  French  traits 
are  a  part  of  the  lasting  heritage  of  the  Old 
Northwest ;  but  Spaniards  and  Frenchmen  as 
such  are  rapidly  fading  from  our  historic  towns. 
A  half-century  ago,  few  of  the  twenty-one 
Western  towns  whose  stories  are  herein  col- 
lected had  taken  upon  themselves  the  charac- 
teristics which  to-day  chiefly  distinguish  them. 
We  have  seen  that  the  advent  of  the  railway 
was  for  many  the  starting-point  upon  the  road 
to  prosperity  ;  the  arrival  of  European  immi- 
grants, with  traditions  of  toil  and  thrift,  proved 
the  turning  stage  for  others,  and  strengthened 
all.  The  War  of  Secession  shook  the  Republic 


xxxiv  Introduction 

to  its  foundations ;  but  from  it  the  North 
rose  with  fresh  vigor,  and  rapidly  developed 
in  growth  and  ambition,  with  the  ensuing 
commercial  and  industrial  conditions  which  we 
encounter  to-day.  Nowhere  has  this  develop- 
ment been  quite  so  noticeable  as  in  the  towns 
of  the  West. 

Pione"er  men  and  women  are  necessarily  too 
closely  engaged  in  taming  the  wilderness  to 
have  either  thought  or  leisure  for  any  but  the 
most  elementary  education.  But  now  that  the 
West  is  no  longer  the  frontier,  and  mines,  for- 
ests, fisheries,  manufactures,  and  scientific  ag- 
riculture have  brought  wealth  and  comparative 
leisure,  there  is  among  her  people  no  lack  of 
aspiration  for  culture.  In  no  section  of  the 
United  States  are  study  clubs  relatively  more 
numerous,  in  town  and  country ;  university 
extension  courses  and  the  lyceum  prosper 
everywhere  ;  the  common  -  school  systems, 
capped  by  the  fast-growing  State  universities 
with  their  thousands  of  students,  are  exhibit- 
ing a  healthy  growth  along  the  most  approved 
lines  under  the  guidance  of  teachers  of  na- 
tional reputation  ;  excellent  private  academies 
and  colleges  are  numerous  in  every  common- 
wealth. Several  of  the  towns  mentioned  in 


Introduction  xxxv 

this  volume  have  won  wide  reputation  as  edu- 
cational centres — notably  Cleveland,  Chicago, 
Madison,  Minneapolis,  St.  Louis,  and  San 
Francisco. 

From  these  Western  towns  there  issues  no 
note  of  decadence.  Theirs  is  the  glowing 
ambition  of  youth.  Each  of  our  several  au- 
thors is  quite  confident,  and  properly  so,  that 
his  town  is  the  handsomest,  brightest,  and 
most  prosperous  of  all ;  or,  if  it  is  not,  that  it 
is  soon  to  be.  Its  commerce  ever  widens,  its 
industries  expand  in  capacity  and  number,  its 
railways  connect  it  each  year  with  some  new 
sphere  of  trade ;  and,  what  is  better,  it  is 
making  strides,  in  breezy  Western  fashion,  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  higher  things  of  life,  in 
its  churches,  its  schools,  its  libraries  and  muse- 
ums, its  charities,  its  parks,  its  popular  con- 
veniences, its  insistence  upon  moral  and 
material  municipal  cleanliness.  It  is  pleasant 
and  profitable  to  trace  the  careers  of  com- 
munities such  as  this ;  to  note,  for  instance,  by 
what  means  the  Indian  village  became  a  trad- 
ing post,  then  a  fort,  next  a  hamlet,  and  at 
last  comes  to  be  pulsating  with  the  ambitions 
and  struggling  with  the  multifarious  problems 
of  a  great  modern  city.  Herein  is  a  record  of 


xxxvi  Introduction 

urban  development  crowded  into  the  span  of 
a  single  human  life,  that  in  the  Old  World  it 
took  centuries  to  accomplish. 

It  is  often  flippantly  asserted  that  America 
has  no  history  ;  and  even  well-informed  Ameri- 
cans, who  have  come  to  appreciate  their  na- 
tional history  at  large,  are  apt  to  fancy  that, 
in  any  event,  the  West  has  had  a  prosaic 
career,  being  simply  an  overflow  or  outgrowth 
from  the  East.  But  a  perusal  of  these  pages 
will  surely  convince  the  thoughtful  reader  that 
Western  history  is  not  so  easily  disposed  of. 
It  will  be  found  a  chronicle  abounding  in  com- 
plexities, aglow  with  life  and  color,  freighted 
with  significance  to  the  continent  at  large. 
The  chief  towns  of  this  historic  West  have 
come  down  to  us  from  many  sorts  of  begin- 
nings, have  travelled  by  differing  and  devious 
paths,  often  encountering  curious  adventures 
by  the  way,  until,  quickened  by  modern  re- 
sources and  demands,  they  have  each  in  its 
kind  come  creditably  to  serve  mankind  in 
some  useful  way. 


HISTORIC  TOWNS  OF  THE 
WESTERN  STATES 


MARIETTA 

THE  PLYMOUTH  OF  THE  WEST 

BY  MURIEL  CAMPBELL  DYAR 

"  The  paths  from  the  heights  of  Abraham  led  to  Independence 
Hall,  Independence  Hall  led  finally  to  Yorktown,  and  Yorktown 
guided  the  footsteps  of  your  Fathers  to  Marietta." — Daniels. 

AT  the  point  where  the  Muskingum  empties 
into  the  Ohio,  the  River  Beautiful,  across 
whose  waters  the  Ohio  hills  look  tenderly  away 
into  the  distances  of  West  Virginia,  there  was 
sown,  in  1788,  the  tiny  seed  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Northwest  Territory.  Here,  on 
the  memorable  seventh  of  April,  landed  forty- 
eight  New  England  pioneers  ;  here  stayed  the 
keel  of  the  second  Mayflozver,  bearing  as  her 


VOL.  I.— I. 


2  Marietta 

burden  not  only  the  men  whose  names  have 
become  immortal  in  American  history,  but, 
more  than  these,  the  Ordinance  of  1787  with  its 
momentous  articles  of  compact — an  ordinance 
ranking  "  next  to  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence in  the  establishment  of  Constitutional 
liberty  in  the  United  States."  Here  was 
founded  that  other  Plymouth,  Marietta,  the 
brave  little  gateway  through  which  the  nation's 
civilization  journeyed  onward  from  the  Atlan- 
tic seaboard  to  the  fallow  empires  of  the  West. 
No  seer  was  needed  to  foreshadow  the  suc- 
cess the  Marietta  colony  was  to  have.  Two 
years  before  its  coming,  the  character  of  the 
colony  was  presaged  when  there  met  in  Bos- 
ton, at  the  Bunch  of  Grapes  Tavern,  whose 
gilded  sign  creaked  temptingly  in  her  high  salt 
winds,  a  convention  called  by  General  Rufus 
Putnam  and  General  Benjamin  Tupper  for  the 
formation  of  the  Ohio  Company,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  founding  a  new  State  in  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  River.  The  Company 
was  composed  of  high-minded  men,  largely 
officers  in  the  late  war.  In  their  petition  to 
Congress  for  the  purchase  of  western  land 
they  stipulated,  for  its  organization,  law  and 
order,  provision  for  education  and  for  the 


4  Marietta 

maintenance  of  religion  and  the  total  exclusion 
of  slavery.  For  these  compacts,  some  of  the 
greatest  statesmen  in  the  young  Republic 
brought  to  bear  the  power  of  their  genius  ;  for 
these,  the  quiet  Ipswich  clergyman,  Manasseh 
Cutler,  as  agent  of  the  Ohio  Company,  pleaded 
with  matchless  eloquence  in  Congress ;  for 
these,  Rufus  Putnam,  the  "  Father  and  Founder 
of  Ohio,"  gave  the  largess  of  his  ability  and 
rugged  force. 

"  An  interlude  in  Congress,"  says  Mr.  Bancroft,  "was 
shaping  the  character  and  destiny  of  the  United  States 
of  America.  Sublime  and  humane  and  eventful  as  was 
the  result,  it  will  not  take  many  words  to  show  how  it 
was  brought  about.  For  a  time  wisdom  and  peace  and 
justice  dwelt  among  men,  and  the  great  Ordinance  which 
alone  could  give  continuance  to  the  Union  came  in  se- 
renity and  stillness.  Every  man  that  had  a  share  in  it 
seemed  to  be  moved  by  an  Invisible  Hand  to  do  just 
what  was  wanted  of  him  ;  all  that  was  wrongfully  under- 
taken fell  by  the  wayside  ;  whatever  was  needed  for  the 
happy  completion  of  the  work  arrived  opportunely  and 
at  the  right  moment  moved  into  its  place." 

To  the  forty-eight  men  sent  into  the  wilder- 
ness by  the  Ohio  Company  history  gives  a 
generous  and  well-merited  praise.  They  were 
of  the  same  race  and  of  the  same  upright  faith 
as  the  brave  Englishmen  who  in  1620  landed 


Marietta  5 

on  the  bleak,  gray  rock  of  Plymouth.  All 
that  was  true  and  forceful  in  the  Plymouth 
faith  was  theirs  ;  they  had  the  same  love  of 
law  and  religion,  the  same  genius  for  order  and 
a  firm  self-government,  the  same  courage  of 
conviction,  the  same  independence  of  thought 
and  action.  They  possessed,  too,  much  of 
that  ancient  war-ready  temper  which  had  shorn 
the  English  King  of  his  divine  right  and  had 
created  for  the  English  people  the  House  of 
Commons.  Their  heroism  had  adorned  every 
battlefield  of  the  Revolution ;  their  roll  in- 
cluded generals,  majors,  colonels  and  captains. 

"  No  colony  in  America,"  said  Washington,  with  that 
cautious,  unerring  judgment  of  his,  "was  ever  settled 
under  such  favorable  auspices  as  that  about  to  commence 
at  the  Muskingum.  Information,  property  and  strength 
will  be  its  characteristics.  I  know  many  of  the  settlers 
personally,  and  there  never  were  men  better  calculated 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  such  a  community." 

"  I  know  them  all,  "cried  the  Marquis  de  La 
Fayette,  his  fine  French  voice  trembling  with 
emotion  when  the  list  of  their  names  was  read 
to  him  on  his  visit  to  Marietta.  "  I  knew  them 
at  Brandywine,  Yorktown  and  Rhode  Island. 
They  were  the  bravest  of  the  brave."  General 
Putnam  himself  was  at  their  head,  the  "  impress 


6  Marietta 

of  whose  character  is  strongly  marked  on  the 
population  of  Marietta  in  their  business,  in- 
stitutions and  manners."  Here  were  Samuel 
H.  Parsons,  the  distinguished  general,  the  able 
writer,  the  accomplished  jurist ;  James  M.  Var- 
num,  the  brilliant  scholar,  the  gallant  officer  ; 
Abraham  Whipple,  the  brave  commodore,  to 
whom  belongs  the  glory  of  firing  the  first 
naval  gun  in  the  cause  of  American  indepen- 
dence, an  act  that  gave  birth  to  the  American 
navy.  Here  were  Winthrop  Sargent,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Territory,  Benjamin  Tupper, 
the  hero  of  many  battles  and  the  devoted 
friend  of  Putnam  in  the  forming  of  the  Ohio 
Company ;  Return  Jonathan  Meigs,  after- 
wards Governor  of  Ohio.  Here  were  Nye, 
Buell,  Cutler,  Fearing,  Foster,  Sproat,  Cush- 
ing,  Goodale,  Dana,  True,  Devol  and  others 
no  less  worthy  and  distinguished,  whose  names 
are  the  richest  heritage  of  their  descendants. 

The  story  of  the  coming  of  the  pioneers  is  a 
twice-told  tale  to  the  student  of  our  nation's 
history.  In  the  disheartening  gray  dawn  of  a 
December  morning,  1787,  the  first  little  band 
paraded  before  Manasseh  Cutler's  own  church 
at  Ipswich,  and,  after  the  firing  of  a  salute, 
started  "for  the  Ohio  country,"  as  their  lead- 


Marietta 


ing  wagon  proclaimed  Another  joined  this  at 
Danvers,  and  yet  another,  pushing  on  from 
famous  old  Rutland,  started  from  Hartford, 
Ct,  led  by  the  beloved  and  always  inspiring 
General  Put- 
nam. The  toil- 
some journey 
overland,  along 
an  old  Indian 
trail  through 
Connecticut  and 
Pennsylvania,  at 
that  season  of 
the  year  white 
with  winter,  end- 
ed at  last  at  the 
Ohio  River. 
Here,  at  Sum- 
rill's  ferry,  out  of 
timber  that  still 
sang  of  the  for- 
ests, was  built 
the  Mayflower,  her  bows  raking  like  a  galley, 
her  burthen  fifty  tons — a  humble  enough  name- 
sake of  the  famous  Pilgrim  vessel.  As  the  pi- 
oneers went  onward  down  the  river,  the  snow, 
which  at  first  lay  heavy  in  the  hollows  of  the 


GENERAL  RUFUS  PUTNAM. 


8  Marietta 

hills,  melted  into  thin  patches  here  and  there, 
until,  when  they  reached  Fort  Harmar,  at  the 
fair  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  April  bour- 
geoned into  unexpected  beauty  about  them. 
It  was  a  golden  augury  for  the  little  town,  to 
which  its  soldier  founders  gave  the  name  of 
Marietta,  in  grateful  remembrance  of  the  sym- 
pathy of  Marie  Antoinette  for  the  colonies 
during  the  weary  period  of  their  Revolution,  a 
name  which  still  keeps  her  citizens  lovers  of 
that  ill-fated  Queen  of  France. 

Enthusiastic  news  of  the  first  summer  of  the 
colony  went  back  over  the  mountains  to  Ips- 
wich and  Rutland.  "  The  climate  is  exceed- 
ing healthy,"  blithely  carols  one  of  the  old 
letters,  "  not  a  man  sick  since  we  have  been 
here.  We  have  started  twenty  buffalo  in  a 
drove  —  deer  are  plenty  as  sheep  in  New  Eng- 
land. Turkeys  are  innumerable.  We  have 
already  planted  a  field  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  in  corn."  Another  settler  drips  from 
his  ecstatic,  and,  we  trust,  veracious  quill, 
"  The  corn  has  grown  nine  inches  in  twenty- 
four  hours  for  two  or  three  days  past."  The 
garrison,  very  soon  erected  for  defence  and 
called  the  Campus  Martius  in  academic  quaint- 
ness,  is  described  as  the  "  handsomest  pile  of 


Marietta  9 

buildings  this  side  of  the  Alleghanies,"  and  as 
presenting  an  appearance  of  almost  mediaeval 
stateliness  and  strength,  bastioned  as  it  was 
with  great  blockhouses  and  surrounded  by  a 
stout  double  wall  of  palisades.  The  Fourth  of 
July  was  celebrated  by  a  great  "banquet," 


OLD  BLOCKHOUSE,  MARIETTA. 

eaten  in  a  bowery  set  up  on  the  banks  of  the 
Muskingum  ;  its  menu  tickles  even  a  jaded 
modern  palate  —  venison  barbecued,  buffalo 
steaks,  bear-meat,  roasted  pigs.  "  the  choicest 
delicacy  of  all,"  and  a  great  pike,  six  feet  long, 
the  largest  ever  caught  in  the  river.  "  We  kept 
it  up  till  after  twelve  o'clock  at  night,"  suc- 
cinctly observes  one  of  the  participants,  "and 


io  Marietta 

then  went  home  and  slept  until  after  daylight." 
On  the  fifteenth  of  July,  a  yet  more  memora- 
ble occasion,  General  St.  Clair,  the  first 
Governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  was 
welcomed  with  great  ceremonies,  and  the  Or- 
dinance of  1787  was  read  with  much  solem- 
nity in  the  midst  of  profound  silence.  In 
early  August  a  pleasant  little  ripple  of  diver- 
sion was  caused  by  the  arrival  of  the  families 
of  the  pioneers.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  same 
month,  Dr.  Cutler  made  a  visit  to  the  settle- 
ment, and  delivered  the  first  sermon  ever 
preached  at  Marietta.  In  September  was 
opened  the  first  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in 
the  Territory.  It  was  an  august  spectacle. 
The  sheriff,  Colonel  Ebenezer  Sproat,  of  the 
Massachusetts  line,  preceded  by  a  military 
escort,  marched  with  his  drawn  sword  and 
wand  of  office  ahead  of  the  governor,  judges, 
secretary  and  others,  to  the  blockhouse  where 
the  court  was  held.  As  the  picturesque  little 
procession  wound  its  way  along  the  river 
banks,  the  friendly  Indians,  loitering  about  the 
new  city,  admired  immensely  the  mighty  form 
of  Colonel  Sproat,  who,  being  six  feet  four 
inches  tall,  towered  conspicuously  above  his 
companions.  Ever  thereafter  they  called  him 


Marietta  1 1 

Hetuck,  or  Big  Buckeye,  and  ever  since  then 
the  natives  of  Ohio  have  been  dubbed  "  Buck- 
eyes." 

Great  provisions  were  made  for  good  order 
in  the  settlement ;  almost  before  the  seeds  of 
New  England  harvests  had  germinated  in  the 
virgin  soil,  Marietta  had  her  pillory,  whipping- 
post and  stocks  for  the  discipline  of  evil-doers, 
instruments  of  torture  which  lingered  as  late 
as  1812.  Every  man  was  ordered  to  "enter- 
tain emigrants,  visit  the  sick,  feed  the  hungry, 
attend  funerals,  cabin-raisings,  log-rollings, 
huskings  and  to  keep  his  latch-string  always 
out."  Once  during  the  fruitful  summer  the 
settlers  assembled  to  attend  a  funeral,  for 
the  first  death  in  the  colony  occurred  in 
August,  when  little  Nabby  Gushing,  daughter 
of  Major  Gushing,  passed  away.  She  was 
buried  tenderly  in  the  alien  soil,  where,  in  an 
unmarked  grave,  she  is  slumbering  still.  Al- 
though many  years  have  come  and  gone  be- 
tween, a  vague  pity  stirs  to-day  at  the  thought 
of  that  little  pioneer  baby,  whose  feet  so  soon 
grew  weary  in  the  vast  wilderness. 

The  hospitality  of  the  latch-strings  was  put  to 
the  test  two  years  later,  when  a  hapless  colony 
of  Frenchmen  took  shelter  in  the  town,  lured 


1 2  Marietta 

into  the  wilderness  by  the  unscrupulous  agent 
of  a  land  company,  with  the  promise  that 
they  should  find  a  land  where  there  were  no 
taxes  to  pay,  no  military  services  to  be  per- 
formed, where  frost,  even  in  winter,  was  en- 
tirely unknown  and  where  candles  grew 
ready-made  on  the  bushes  and  sugar  dripped 
spontaneously  from  the  trees.  They  were  a 
curious  crew  :  carvers,  gilders,  wig-makers  and 
hair-dressers  from  Paris,  even  a  Viscount  of 
broken-down  fortunes  and  a  young  Marquis, 
with  a  few  peasants  as  helpless  as  themselves 
in  the  new  conditions, —  hardly  a  mother's  son 
of  them  able  to  plough  or  reap  or  chop  for  him- 
self, and  many  a  man  without  a  sou  in  his 
pocket.  The  major  part  of  them  drifted  down 
the  river  that  winter  to  what  is  now  Gallipolis, 
the  City  of  the  Gauls,  where  they  at  once  be- 
gan to  give  balls  in  the  cabins  which  the 
Marietta  settlers  helped  them  build,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  spend  what  little  money  they  had  in 
hiring  American  hunters  to  bring  them  game  ! 
A  few  became  citizens  of  Marietta,  notably 
Monsieur  Thiery,  a  Parisian  baker  and  con- 
fectioner, who  quickly  adapted  himself  to  the 
new  life,  and  made  toothsome  little  sweet-cakes 
and  bread  for  the  settlement, —  there  is  a 


Marietta  1 3 

tradition  that  while  Louis  Philippe  was  whil- 
ing  away  his  exile  in  the  United  States,  he 
visited  Marietta,  where  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
eating  a  fair  wheaten  loaf  of  his  countryman's 
baking,  and  Monsieur  Cookie,  bred  to  no 
trade,  very  short  and  very  stout,  who  wore  at 
all  times  and  in  all  seasons  a  very  tall  steeple- 
crowned  hat  which  once  saved  his  life,  when 
the  Indians,  catching  sight  of  it  bobbing  up 
and  down  in  the  paw-paw  bushes,  fired  at  it  in 
a  vain  attempt  to  hit  the  head  within. 

After  the  sober  jollity  of  the  first  summer, 
the  Marietta  colonists  experienced  the  hard- 
ships which  every  early  settlement  knows. 
They  had  their  "  sick  years,  their  times  of 
famine  and  their  Indian  wars."  The  sick 
years  played  a  sad  havoc  in  their  numbers  by 
dreadful  scourges  of  epidemic  diseases.  The 
famous  starving-time  came  in  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1790.  A  black  frost  falling  out  of 
due  season  ruined  their  crops,  and  the  Indians, 
already  beginning  their  hostilities,  had  driven 
from  the  forest  every  startled  wild  thing  within 
their  reach.  It  was  a  period  that  tried  the 
Puritan  mettle,  for  the  solace  of  religion  may 
prove  vain  if  the  stomach  be  empty.  The  only 
food  was  nettle-tops  and  the  tender  shoots 


14  Marietta 

of  the  pigeon-berry,  boiled  with  a  little  corn 
pounded  on  the  hominy  block.  Occasionally 
a  hunter,  faring  far  afield,  brought  in  a  bit  of 
bear-meat  or  a  wild  turkey,  which  made  a  feast 
at  least  fitting  if  not  full.  The  heroic  matrons 
sipped  spice-bush  tea,  unsweetened,  in  lieu  of 
a  more  stimulating  beverage  Many  a  heart 
turned  back  in  homesick  longing  to  where  the 
blue  haze  curled  comfortably  from  New  Eng- 
land kitchens,  but  hope  returned  with  the  early- 
squashes.  The  new  corn  crop  was  abundant, 
and  from  that  day  to  this,  whatever  may  have 
been  their  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  the  citizens 
of  Marietta  have  never  again  been  reduced  to 
a  starvation  diet. 

A  much  graver  calamity,  coming  not  long 
after,  was  the  Indian  wars,  which  were  not  to 
end  for  five  long,  weary  years.  During  this 
time  the  town  was  strained  to  its  generous 
capacity  to  receive  under  the  shelter  of  the 
Campus  Martius  the  men,  women  and  children 
from  remoter  settlements.  The  settlers  worked 
in  the  fields  like  the  Israelites  at  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem, — every  man  with 
his  weapon  in  his  hand.  On  the  puncheon 
cabin-floors,  mothers  rocked  their  babies  in  the 
first  cradles  of  Ohio,  while  often,  on  some  far- 


Marietta  15 

off  hill,  they  could  see  savage  warriors  brand- 
ishing their  blood-stained  hatchets  in  defiance 
at  the  fort. 

The  news  of  the  defeat  of  General  St.  Clair's 
expedition  caused  consternation,  and  threatened 
for  a  time  to  break  up  the  settlement.  So  dis- 
astrous was  the  defeat  that  when  in  1 793  Mad 
Anthony  Wayne  camped  on  the  General's  bat- 
tlefield, his  soldiers  could  not  lie  down  to  sleep 
for  the  bones  of  the  unfortunate  army.  Humil- 
iated by  his  misfortune  and  its  implied  disgrace, 
the  Governor  soon  left  his  Marietta  home. 
The  colonists  mourned  with  his  loss  that  of 
his  daughter  Louisa,  so  brave,  so  lovely,  so 
brilliant,  that  it  seems  no  mere  legend  that  the 
great  Indian  chief,  Brandt,  was  madly  in  love 
with  her. 

In  the  grim  terror  of  the  times,  an  amusing 
incident  now  and  then  comes  like  a  lilt  of  girl- 
ish laughter.  Once  the  signal  gun  gave  the 
alarm  that  the  Indians  were  besieging  the 
town.  The  night  was  dark  and  the  confusion 
indescribable.  Men  rushed  to  their  posts  and 
the  women  and  children  scuttled  to  the  central 
blockhouse.  Colonel  Sproat  led  the  way  with 
a  box  of  valuable  papers  ;  next  came  a  woman 
with  her  bed  and  children,  and  tumbling  after 


1 6  Marietta 

her,  old  Mr.  Moulton,  with  his  leathern  apron 
full  of  goldsmith's  tools  and  tobacco.  His 
daughter  Anna  carried  the  china  tea-pot. 
Lyddy  brought  the  great  Bible.  When  all 
were  in  the  frightened  cry  was  raised  that 
Mrs.  Moulton  was  missing — that  she  had  been 
scalped  by  the  Indians.  "  Oh,  no,"  said 
Lyddy  calmly,  "  she  '11  be  here  in  a  minute. 
She  stopped  to  put  things  a  little  to  rights ; 
she  said  she  would  not  leave  the  house  looking 
so"  And  in  a  few  moments  the  old  lady 
scuttled  in,  bearing  the  looking-glass  —  a  tri- 
umph of  New  England  housewifery ! 

A  certain  regularity  of  living  was  maintained 
in  spite  of  the  continuous  fear.  Every  Sabbath 
morning  church  was  held  in  a  blockhouse 
where  Psalms  were  droned  with  Puritan  unc- 
tion, and  the  sermon  by  Mr.  Story,  the  schol- 
arly Massachusetts  divine,  was  tasted  with 
much  critical  acumen  by  the  learned  back- 
woodsmen, many  of  whom  were  graduates  of 
Harvard  and  Dartmouth.  On  the  long  Sab- 
bath afternoons  the  children  of  the  settlement 
studied  their  catechisms  in  the  simple  log 
cabin  of  Mrs.  Mary  Lake,  the  earnest  woman 
who  thus  started  what  was  perhaps  the  first 
Sunday-school  in  the  United  States.  On 


1 8  Marietta 

week  days  they  were  gathered  together  for 
lessons,  nor  was  the  rod  kept  in  less  per- 
petual pickle  because  of  the  proximity  of  the 
Indians. 

The  war  once  over,  a  busy  activity  ensued. 
Mills  were  built,  bridges  made,  and  more 
comfortable  houses  erected.  It  was  not 
strange  that  the  sons  of  the  old  coast  States, 
with  the  siren  voice  of  the  sea  still  in  their 
ears,  should  become  notable  builders  of  ships. 
The  great  trees  of  the  forest  were  masts  ready 
for  felling,  and  many  a  stately  vessel  slipped 
into  the  water  from  this  inland  ship-yard,  to 
glide  down  the  Ohio  into  the  Mississippi,  and 
from  thence  to  the  shining  ocean  beyond. 
The  town  became  a  centre  of  industry  and 
traffic,  a  position  which  she  was  not  long  to 
keep,  for  gradually  trade  drifted  from  her,  and 
by  and  by  she  fell  asleep  commercially  beside 
her  pleasant  waters,  to  nod  and  dream  serenely 
through  years  to  come.  But  not  only  was  the 
early  Marietta  noted  for  her  industrial  pros- 
perity ;  she  was  a  centre  of  culture  as  well,  and 
her  place  in  this  regard  she  has  never  lost. 
As  soon  as  a  greater  wealth  and  leisure  came 
to  the  pioneer  colony,  there  bloomed  abun- 
dantly the  flowers  of  an  intellectual  refinement, 


HARMAN   BLENNERHASSETT. 


20  Marietta 

which  was  the  birth-right  of  those  heroic  men 
and  women. 

It  is  with  this  gracious  era,  redolent  of  sweet 
old  customs  and  stately  courtesies,  that  there 
is  associated  the  romantic,  old-time  tragedy  of 
the  Blennerhassetts.  On  the  lovely  island  lying 
some  twelve  miles  below  Marietta,  Harman 
Blennerhassett,  the  dreamy  Irish  exile,  built  his 
idyllic  mansion,  whose  grandeur  was  the  won- 
der of  the  West. 

"  A  shrubbery  that  Shenstone  might  have  envied," 
wrote  Wirt,  "  blooms  around  him.  Music  that  might 
have  charmed  Calypso  and  her  nymphs,  is  his.  An  ex- 
tensive library  spreads  its  treasures  before  him.  A  phil- 
osophical apparatus  offers  him  all  the  secrets  and 
mysteries  of  nature.  Peace,  tranquillity,  and  innocence 
shed  their  mingled  delights  about  him.  And  to  crown 
the  enchantment  of  the  scene,  a  wife,  who  is  said  to  be 
lovely  even  beyond  her  sex,  and  graced  with  every  ac- 
complishment that  can  render  it  irresistible,  has  blessed 
him  with  her  love." 

Here  he  plotted  a  new  empire  with  the  bad 
and  brilliant  Aaron  Burr,  whose  hands  were 
still  red  with  the  blood  of  the  murdered  Alex- 
ander Hamilton ;  and  from  here  he  fled  ac- 
cused of  treason  to  his  country,  disgraced 
and  ruined.  Memories  of  the  "  Blennerhassett 


Marietta 


21 


days "  are  many,  for  the  great  man  was  for 
several  years  a  partner  of  Dudley  Woodbridge, 
the  first  merchant  of  Marietta,  and  both  he 
and  his  accomplished  wife  were  familiar  figures 
in  Marietta 
homes.  Fancy, 
inspired  by 
local  annals, 
has  a  charming 
glimpse  of  the 
loving  mistress 
of  the  hospitable 
mansion,  dash- 
ing through  the 
woods  on  her 
spirited  horse, 
like  some  bril- 
liant tropical 
bird,  in  her  habit 
of  scarlet  cloth, 
and  white  hat 
with  the  long: 

o 

drooping  plume.  A  pretty  story  is  told  of 
her  wit  and  beauty  at  the  famous  "  Burr 
ball "  which  the  fashion  of  Marietta  once  gave 
in  honor  of  the  crafty  statesman  and  his 
daughter  Theodosia.  To-day,  the  site  of  the 


MRS.   BLENNERHASSETT. 


22  Marietta 

regal  dwelling  is  marked  only  by  an  old  well 
and  some  magnificent  trees.  "  Blennerhassett's 
Island "  is  a  point  of  attraction  for  pleasure- 
seekers,  who  give  little  enough  thought  to  its 
sad  story  ;  but  sometimes  there  journeys  to 
it  a  lover  of  past  years  who  looks  with  blurred 
eyes  at  the  spot  where  once  was  enacted 
one  of  the  most  pathetic  little  tragedies  in 
all  American  history. 

But  Marietta  is  not  altogether  a  tale  of 
yesterdays ;  she  has  as  well  her  to-day,  with 
its  rich  promise  for  the  morrow.  To-day,  a 
stranger  in  the  town  has  pointed  out  to  him 
"New"  and  "Old"  Marietta.  In  New  Ma- 
rietta, brought  into  existence  by  the  discovery 
of  vast  surrounding  oil-fields,  there  are  thriv- 
ing factories,  modern  business  blocks,  new 
hotels,  improved  school-buildings,  electric  cars  ; 
there  are  evidences  of  wealth  and  business 
prosperity,  and  signs  of  an  increasing  popu- 
lation. This  commercial  progress,  from  a 
civic  standpoint,  is  undeniably  a  benefit,  yet 
it  must  be  admitted,  for  the  time  being,  it 
gives  Marietta  a  little  the  appearance  of  a 
kindly,  old-style  grandmother,  startled  from 
a  long  afternoon  nap  in  the  chimney-corner, 
to  find  her  cap  gone,  her  scanty  petticoats 


24  Marietta 

replaced  by  strangely  ample  frills,  and  the  cara- 
way seeds  in  her  limp  black  bag  supplanted 
by  indigestible  bon-bons.  In  Old  Marietta  the 
scene  shifts.  Here  is  the  drowsy  peace  of  a 
New  England  village  ;  here  are  wide  streets 
shaded  by  avenues  of  splendid  trees,  and 
ancient  houses,  generous-portalled,  serene. 
Here  is  the  burring  of  bees  in  old-fashioned 
gardens.  And  is  not  this  lingering  fragrance 
the  smell  of  the  lotos-flower  ? 

The  glory  of  the  old  dispensation  is  the 
venerable  college,  whose  buildings  cluster  pic- 
turesquely on  the  green  lift  of  College  Hill. 
Founded  in  the  fear  of  God  by  the  first  schol- 
ars of  Ohio,  it  has  behind  it  a  proud  history. 
At  its  head  have  stood  men  of  rich  culture  and 
ability,  among  whose  names  shines  pre-emi- 
nently that  of  Israel  Ward  Andrews.  In  the 
list  of  its  instructors  have  been  scholars  who 
have  led  it  upward  to  all  that  is  noblest  and 
best.  From  its  classes  have  gone  out  students 
who  have  taken  a  fitting  and  often  distin- 
guished place  in  the  professions  and  in  poli- 
tics. When  the  call  of  1861  came,  the  student 
sons  of  Marietta  responded  with  a  gallant 
patriotism  and  a  devoted  service,  some  among 
them  winning  the  highest  recognition.  To- 


26  Marietta 

day,  with  its  able  faculty,  its  fine  library,  its 
well  equipped  class-rooms,  it  holds  no  mean 
place  in  the  roll  of  American  colleges.  It 
pays  to  its  past  the  precious  thanks  of  a  worthy 
present.  And  with  happy  confidence  it  looks 
forward  to  its  future,  under  the  guidance  of  its 
sixth  and  latest  President,  Alfred  Tyler  Perry, 
but  recently  called  to  its  leadership  from  Hart- 
ford Theological  Seminary. 

In  the  old  Mound  Cemetery  sleep  an  hon- 
ored dead.  In  its  center  is  the  prehistoric 
mound,  as  well  preserved  to-day  as  when  it 
was  discovered  by  the  pioneer  fathers,  a  vast 
monument  to  the  unknown  fittingly  encircled 
by  the  quiet  dignity  of  this  ancient  Acre  of 
God.  General  Putnam's  grave  is  marked  by  a 
plain  granite  monument,  bearing  the  simple 
inscription  more  touching  than  the  loftiest 
eulogy : 

GENERAL  RUFUS  PUTNAM 

A  Revolutionary  Officer 

And  the  leader  of  the 

Colony  which  made  the 

First  settlement  in  the 

Territory  of  the  North-West. 

Born  April  9,  1738, 

Died  May  4,  1824. 


Marietta  27 

Not  far  from  him  are  the  majority  of  the 
Revolutionary  heroes  who  came  with  him  from 
New  England.  It  is  claimed  that  there  are 
buried  here  more  officers  of  the  Revolution 
than  in  any  other  burying-ground  in  the  United 


OHIO  COMPANY'S  LAND  OFFICE. 


States.  About  them  lie  thirteen  soldiers  of  the 
War  of  1812,  and  a  number  of  the  brave  men 
who  fought  in  the  Mexican  War.  Here  too, 
are  the  resting-places  of  many  early  citizens  of 
Marietta,  who  are  as  a  "  Choir  Invisible" 

"  Of  those  immortal  dead,  who  live  again 
In  minds  made  better  by  their  presence." 


28  Marietta 

The  gates  are  seldom  open  now  to  the  silent 
caravans,  for  the  graves  in  the  cloistral  grass 
lie  close. 

Many  relics  of  bygone  days  make  Old  Mari- 
etta interesting.  The  streets  running  north 
and  south  bear  yet  the  names  given  them  by 
the  early  settlers,  of  Washington  and  his  gen- 
erals. The  "  Sacra  Via "  and  the  breezy 
"  Capitolium  "  and  "  Tiber  Way  "  bear  witness 
to  an  old  scholarship.  "The  Point"  recalls 
the  picketed  Point  of  the  Indian  wars.  There 
still  stands  the  Ohio  Company's  Land  Office, 
a  wee,  weather-beaten  building,  gray  with 
time,  probably  the  oldest  structure  in  Ohio. 
Opposite  this  is  the  old  homestead  of  Rufus 
Putnam,  which  stood  within  the  Campus  Mar- 
tius.  On  the  park,  fronting  the  river,  is  the 
quaint  Two  Horn  Church  of  the  Congrega- 
tionalists,  erected  in  the  wilderness  in  1806 
and  now  Ohio's  oldest  church  building.  On 
the  same  street  where  it  stands  is  the  stately 
old  mansion  of  Governor  Meigs,  which  was 
built  two  years  earlier  and  which  still  holds  an 
honored  place  among  Marietta's  beautiful 
homes.  In  families  whose  names  mark  their 
descent  from  the  "  forty-eight  immortals  "  are 
treasured  numerous  heirlooms, — ancestral  por- 


Marietta 


29 


traits  which  look  from  their  tarnished  frames 
pink-cheeked,  confident  and  calm  ;  old  dresses, 
dim  and  faintly  odorous  ;  and  divers  warming- 
pans,  candlesticks  and  Blennerhassett  chairs, 


OLD  TWO  HORN  CHURCH. 


together  with  sundry  bits  of  sprigged,  delightful 
china. 

"  Age  is  a  recommendation  in  four  things," 
runs  a  Spanish  proverb  :  "  Old  wood  to  burn, 
old  wine  to  drink,  old  friends  to  trust,  old 
books  to  read."  To  these  might  well  be  added 
a  fifth, — old  towns  to  love.  To  those  who 
know  her,  Marietta  is  a  hallowed  spot.  She  is 


30  Marietta 

a  tender-bosomed  matron,  this  mother  of  many 
sons.  Around  her  is  a  fair  line  of  hills,  which, 
whether  green  with  the  eternal  promise  of  the 
spring,  or  wrapped  in  the  blue  smoke  from 
autumn's  invisible  battlefield,  or  hoary  with 
winter's  snows,  are  changelessly  beautiful. 
About  her  are  broad  fields,  now  quivering  to 
their  resurrection,  now  white  to  the  harvests. 
Before  her  are  the  lovely,  far-stretching  rivers, 
calling  to  her  all  day  long  with  their  old,  sweet 
notes  of  running  water.  By  the  bonds  of  her 
historic  beauty  she  holds  her  children  in  a  very 
tender  thrall.  In  all  times,  and  in  all  places, 
their  hearts  yearn  unto  her  in  the  far  Horatian 
cry  :  "  Septimius,  —  that  angle  of  the  earth 
laughs  for  me  beyond  all  others  !  " 


CLEVELAND 

THE  PLEASANT  CITY 

BY  CHARLES  F.    THWING 

THE  first  thing  to  be  said  about  Cleveland 
is  what,  with  the  change  of  a  pronoun,  a 
Cambridge  poet  said  about  one  of  whom  he 
wrote  :  "It  is  so  pleasant."  Its  streets  are 
pleasant  to  live  in  and  to  look  upon  ;  its  parks 
are  pleasant  to  stroll  in  or  to  ride  in  ;  its  houses 
are,  on  the  whole,  pleasant  to  the  aesthetic 
sense  ;  its  libraries  are  pleasant  for  their  select- 
ness  though  not  for  their  bigness  ;  its  people 
are,  above  all,  pleasant  for  their  dignity,  gra- 
ciousness,  genuineness,  simplicity  and  appre- 
ciation. In  the  year  1838  the  late  Asa  Gray 
spent  a  short  time  in  Cleveland,  and  wrote 
from  Cleveland  to  a  friend,  saying  that  the 
city  would  "  ultimately  be  a  very  pleasant 
place  "  ;  he  adds :  "  The  people  show  some 

31 


32  Cleveland 

signs  of  civilization  ;  they  eat  ice  cream,  which 
is  sold  in  many  places."  1  I  wish  I  were  able  to 
assure  my  old  friend  and  neighbor,  as  he  now 
lives  with  the  immortelles  and  other  fadeless 
flowers,  that  he  has  proved  to  be  a  true  prophet : 
Cleveland  has  become  a  "  very  pleasant  place," 
and  possibly  I  might  be  allowed  to  assure  him 
that  signs  of  the  ice-age  of  modern  civilization 
still  linger. 

In  that  relation  in  which  men  commonly  use 
the  word  "  pleasant,"  the  weather,  Cleveland  is 
not  pleasant.  It  has  as  much  cloudy  weather 
as  almost  any  part  of  the  world  ;  and  yet  it  has 
a  pleasant  climate.  Its  summers  are  not  hot,  its 
winters  not  cold.  To  the  worker  of  any  sort  this 
pleasant  climate  of  much  unpleasant  weather 
is  very  pleasing,  for  in  it,  as  in  the  climate  of 
London,  one  can  get  much  work  out  of  him- 
self. 

Cleveland  is  a  singular  creation  of  contra- 
ries. It  is  an  inland  town,  but  it  builds  more 
vessels  and  owns  more  vessels  than  almost 
any  other  in  the  United  States.  About  a 
quarter  of  all  the  steel  vessels,  rated  in  ton- 
nage, built  in  the  United  States  in  the 
last  fiscal  year  of  the  Government  were  con- 

1  Letters  of  Asa  Gray,  i.,  72. 


34  Cleveland 

structed  in  Cleveland,  the  order  of  precedence 
being  Cleveland,  Newport  News,  Chicago, 
and  Detroit ;  and  almost  three  quarters  of  the 
modern  steel  ships  in  service  on  the  Great  Lakes 
are  owned  or  operated  by  Cleveland  vesselmen. 
It  is  a  city  of  four  hundred  thousand  people, 
but  it  impresses  both  the  visitor  and  the  resi- 
dent as  a  big  village  or  a  series  of  big  villages. 
From  it  can  be  reached  in  a  long  or  short 
night's  ride,  New  York  and  Chicago,  Buffalo 
and  St.  Louis,  Detroit  and  Cincinnati ;  within 
seven  hundred  miles  of  Cleveland  dwell  more 
than  half  the  entire  population  of  the  country, 
and  yet  Cleveland  has  been  called  provincial. 
Its  homes  are  among  the  most  palatial  of  the 
world,  but  the  owners  of  not  a  few  are  more  at 
home  in  New  York  and  Paris  than  on  Euclid 
Avenue.  It  is  distinguished  for  its  iron,  steel 
and  coal  interests,  but  it  has  scholars  and 
teachers  who  are  known  where  its  steel  rails 
have  never  been  carried.  It  is  a  city  of 
the  East,  and  it  is  also  a  city  of  the  West— 
of  the  East  it  is  the  newest,  of  the  West  it  is 
the  oldest.  It  is  often  called  conservative,  but 
it  is  also  distinguished  by  its  sense  of  power 
and  of  progress.  It  represents  in  its  citizens  a 
pure  New  England  type  ;  but  it  has  also  gath- 


Cleveland 


35 


ered  up  folks  from  all  over  the  world, — "  Par- 
thians,  and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  .  .  .  strangers 


CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  CLEVELAND. 

of  Rome,  Jews  and  proselytes,  Cretes  and 
Arabians,"  who  read  their  newspapers  in  a 
dozen  different  languages.  But,  be  it  said,  the 


36  Cleveland 

New  England,  the  Connecticut  and  Massa- 
chusetts type  still  dominates.  The  names  of 
the  families  which  are  most  representative  of 
the  things  of  the  spirit  include  a  large  number 
of  New  England  names. 

This  city  of  contraries  and  of  contrasts  is 
yet  made  a  great  city  by  only  one  or  two  simple 
elements.  One  may  say  that  Lake  Erie  makes 
Cleveland.  Were  there  no  Lake  Erie  there 
would  be  no  Cleveland.  But  Lake  Erie  is  the 
occasion  and  not  the  cause.  One  may  say  that 
the  age  of  steel  makes  Cleveland.  But  that  this 
age  is  the  age  of  steel  is  only  the  condition,  not 
the  cause.  The  cause  that  makes  Cleveland 
Cleveland  is  that  at  or  near  Cleveland  the 
various  elements  that  are  necessary  in  the 
manufacture  of  iron  and  steel  can  be  most 
economically  and  efficiently  assembled.  The 
iron  ores  from  the  Lake  Superior  region,  the 
coal  from  the  Massillon,  Mohoning  and  Penn- 
sylvania region,  the  limestone  from  the  Lake 
Erie  islands  and  southern  shores,  can  here  be 
most  profitably  brought  together.  Cleveland 
is,  too,  by  rail  and  by  boat  a  good  point  for  the 
distribution  of  the  finished  product  as  well  as  a 
good  point  for  the  bringing  together  of  the 
crude  material.  Here  ore,  coal  and  lime  meet 


Cleveland  37 

and  mingle  as  naturally  as  the  heat  of  the 
sun  and  the  life  of  the  seed  unite  in  the 
springtime.  Nothing  can  prevent  their  meet- 
ing, and  little  can  subsidies  or  other  artificial 
stimulus  do  to  promote  it.  From  this  union 
spring  forth  factories  making  nuts  and  bolts 
and  sewing-machines  and  engines  and  the  thou- 
sand products  and  by-products  of  this  age  and 
place  of  steel.  Therefore  Cleveland  is  Cleve- 
land. 

It  may  not  only  be  said  that  Cleveland  is 
herself ;  it  should  also  be  added  that  Cleve- 
land has  done  some  things  first  which  are 
worth  doing  anyway,  and  which  are  especially 
worth  doing  first.  As  among  the  colleges 
Williams  and  Harvard  have  done  not  a  few 
first  things,  so  among  the  cities  Cleveland 
may  claim  a  certain  priority.  The  city  was, 
if  not  the  first,  among  the  first  to  adopt  the 
federal  system  of  municipal  government,  a 
system  which,  after  ten  years  of  usefulness, 
has  proved  to  be  like  every  other  form  of 
democratic  government,  good  if  good  men 
are  in  control,  and  bad  if  bad  men  are  in 
control.  Cleveland  was  the  first  to  adopt  the 
proper  method  for  the  government  and  ad- 
ministration of  its  public  schools,  namely  the 


38  Cleveland 

separation  of  the  business  side  of  the  adminis- 
tration from  the  educational,    a   system,   too, 


SOLDIERS'  AND   SAILORS'   MONUMENT,  CLEVELAND. 

which,  like  the  more  general  plan  of  govern- 
ment, finds  its  efficiency  in  the  character  of  the 
men  who  administer  it.  In  Cleveland,  too, 


Cleveland  39 

was  organized  the  great  Epworth  League  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Here,  too, 
one  of  the  first  women  in  America  to  enter  the 
medical  profession  was  trained  in  the  old 
Medical  College,  now  a  part  of  the  Western 
Reserve  University.  Here  the  recondite  ex- 
periments were  made  by  Morley  for  deter- 
mining the  atomic  weight  of  oxygen,  and 
practical  experiments  by  Brush  for  giving 
the  best  light,  as  well  as  the  important 
experiments  also  made  by  Brush  which  re- 
sulted in  adding  "  etherion  "  to  the  elements. 
Here,  also,  important  facilities  in  the  use  of 
the  public  library  and  in  the  making  of  finest 
machinery,  such  as  is  used  in  astronomical 
apparatus,  were  first  applied.  One,  too,  should 
not  in  a  commercial  age  be  suffered  to  forget 
that  in  Cleveland  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
was  born  and  grew  to  be  a  lusty  youth. 

This  city  of  first  things  had  as  its  first 
man  and  founder,  one  whose  name  it  bears, 
Moses  Cleveland.  A  Connecticut  man,  born 
in  Canterbury,  Windham  County,  in  1754, 
graduated  at  Yale  in  1777,  admitted  to  the 
bar,  interrupting  his  professional  practice  by 
service  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  serving  in 
the  Connecticut  Legislature  and  also  in  the 


40  Cleveland 

State  militia,  Moses  Cleveland  was  made 
agent  for  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  in 
1796,  and  came  into  the  historic  territory  of 
New  Connecticut,  or  the  Western  Reserve.1 
He  seems  to  have  had  those  elements  which 
usually  are  found  in  founders  of  states  and 
builders  of  cities.  Reserved  in  speech,  vig- 
orous in  action,  friendly  with  all,  grave, 
shrewd,  he  was  born  to  command.  His  career 
was  brief  :  he  died  in  the  town  of  his  birth 
in  1806  ;  but  he  lived  long  enough  to  enter- 
tain a  rational  hope  of  the  future  greatness 
of  the  city  he  founded  and  named.  It  is  said 
that  he  once  remarked  :  "While  I  was  in  New 
Connecticut  I  laid  out  a  town,  on  the  bank  of 
Lake  Erie,  which  was  called  by  my  name,  and 
I  believe  the  child  is  now  born  that  may  live 
to  see  it  grow  as  large  as  old  Windham." 
Moses  Cleveland  was  a  prophet  at  once 

1  This  section,  known  as  the  Western  Reserve,  lying  between 
parallels  forty-one  and  forty-two,  and  a  line  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  west  of  the  western  line  of  Pennsylvania  and  parallel  with  it, 
was  "  reserved  "  to  Connecticut  when  she  ceded  to  the  United  States 
certain  territory  which  she  had  received  from  the  grant  of  Charles 
II.  Of  this  territory  Connecticut  granted  one  half  million  of  acres 
to  such  of  her  soldiers  as  had  suffered  from  the  British  during  the 
Revolution.  The  larger,  if  not  the  entire,  part  of  the  balance 
passed  into  the  control  of  a  private-public  corporation,  known  as 
the  Connecticut  Land  Company. 


Cleveland  41 

true  and  false.  Cleveland  became  as  large 
as  old  Windham  and  even  larger,  in  the 
lifetime  of  children  born  in  the  last  de- 
cade of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  method 
by  which  Cleveland  has  attained  the  first 
place  in  its  State,  and  the  seventh  place  in 
the  United  States,  is  a  process,  a  growth, 
and  not  a  manufacture.  In  the  year  1830, 
thirty-four  years  after  the  coming  of  Moses 
Cleveland,  it  had  only  a  thousand  people  ; 
but  the  one  thousand  had  increased  to  six 
thousand  by  1840,  and  in  the  next  ten 
years  the  six  thousand  increased  threefold. 
In  the  next  ten  years  the  number  more  than 
doubled,  becoming  forty-three  thousand  in 
1860,  and  yet  again  doubled  in  the  following 
decade.  By  1870,  it  had  become  ninety-two 
thousand.  The  doubling  process  could  not 
long  continue,  but  it  came  so  near  it  that  in 
1880  there  were  one  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  in  1890  two  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  and  more,  and  in  1900  almost 
four  hundred  thousand. 

A  growth  more  normal  and  steady,  a  growth 
which  has  also  carried  along  with  itself  ele- 
ments far  more  precious  than  mere  size,  it 
would  be  hard  to  find.  For  these  folks  do 


Cleveland 


not  deserve  the  epithet  which  Carlyle  applied 
to  London's  millions.  They  are  a  people  of 
vigor,  initiative,  progressiveness,  carefulness, 


ARMORY  OF  THE  CLEVELAND  GRAYS. 

wealth,  work,  comfortableness,  and  good-heart- 
edness.  Cleveland  may  be  conservative  ;  but 
it  is  the  conservatism  of  the  English  nation 


Cleveland  43 

which  Emerson  describes  in  saying :  "  The 
slow,  deep  English  mass  smoulders  with  fire, 
which  at  last  sets  all  its  borders  in  flame." 
Cleveland's  fires  are  the  fires  of  anthracite 
and  not  of  straw. 

A  city  of  comfort,  Cleveland  has  no  Lon- 
don's East  End.  I  do  not  believe  that  in  any 
other  population  of  the  world  of  its  size  can 
be  found  so  few  hungry  stomachs  or  home- 
less bodies.  Work  abounds.  All  men  work. 
Its  rich  men  are  workers,  and,  what  is  far 
more  exceptional,  the  sons  of  its  rich  men  are 
workers.  Its  wealth  is  of  the  solid  sort.  It 
represents  investments  which  pay  dividends 
every  six  months,  and  which  represent  the 
advancement  of  every  commercial  and  manu- 
facturing interest.  But  Cleveland  is  obliged  to 
acknowledge  that  not  a  few  of  its  rich  men 
are  legal  citizens  of  New  York  City,  ostracized 
from  its  pleasant  borders  by  what  they  and 
others  regard  as  the  unjust  tax  laws  of  the 
State. 

The  city  has  not  yet  reached  the  condition  in 
which  it  is  understood  that  in  case  a  will  is  pro- 
bated representing  a  large  estate  which  fails  to 
give  at  least  a  considerable  sum  to  charity  or 
to  education,  the  court  shall  set  it  aside  on  the 


44  Cleveland 

ground  that  the  testator  was  of  unsound  mind. 
Of  course  money  is  given  away  both  by  gift 
and  by  bequest,  but  more,  on  the  whole,  by  gift 
than  by  bequest,  and  in  large  amounts,  but 
not  in  amounts  so  large  as  prevail  in  commu- 
nities of  an  age  of  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  years  rather  than  of  one  hundred.  The 
rate  of  increase  which  money  may  make  for 
itself  is  so  great,  that  the  holder  and  the  maker 
hesitate  to  part  with  such  a  remunerative 
agent.  Yet  the  beneficence  viewed  in  the  light 
of  decades  is  great.  A  noble  school  of  science, 
a  noble  college  and  university,  including 
professional  schools,  a  noble  foundation  for  an 
art  school,  are  easily  found  among  the  more 
obvious  tokens.  Hospitals  and  orphanages, 
private  schools,  endowed  churches,  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  buildings,  parks 
and  college  settlements,  are  ready  proof  of 
private  beneficence  for  public  ends.  Testi- 
mony should  also  be  borne  to  the  wisdom  as 
well  as  the  generosity  which  characterize  the 
giving  of  this  people.  My  pen  refuses  to 
write  names,  but  it  is  free  to  say  that  to  find 
beneficence  which  is,  it  shall  not  be  said  so 
little  harmful,  but  which  is  so  gloriously  effi- 
cient, as  the  beneficence  of  some  of  Cleveland's 


46  Cleveland 

noblest  women  and  men  would  be  difficult. 
With  the  gift,  before  the  gift,  and  after  the 
gift  goes  the  wisdom  as  well  as  the  graciousness 
of  the  giver.  One,  too,  should  not  neglect  to 
say  that  in  not  a  few  of  the  great  manufactur- 
ing concerns  of  Cleveland  prevails  a  spirit  that 
the  employer  owes  to  the  employee  something 
more  than  wages.  The  dividend  to  labor  con- 
sists, in  the  more  obvious  relations,  in  provid- 
ing rest  and  recreation  rooms,  facilities  for 
eating  the  midday  luncheon,  and  in  doing 
what  can  be  done  in  creating  associations  and 
conditions  which  make  for  the  enrichment  of 
life  and  the  betterment  of  character. 

Of  course  Cleveland  has  societies  and  clubs: 
clubs  into  which  the  worthiest  life  of  the  com- 
munity naturally  organizes  itself  for  worthiest 
purposes,  and  clubs  which  represent  the  life 
that  is  simply  worthy  and  of  which,  the  pur- 
poses are  not  the  highest.  Clubs  of  women 
and  clubs  of  men,  clubs  social  and  clubs  pro- 
fessional, clubs  literary  and  clubs  commercial, 
clubs  anthropological  and  clubs  sociological, 
clubs  chemical  and  clubs  engineering,  clubs 
collegiate  and  clubs  pedagogical,  clubs  athletic 
and  clubs  aesthetic,  clubs  piscatorial  and  clubs 
ecclesiastical,  clubs  architectural  and  clubs  of 


Cleveland  47 

free-traders,  clubs  for  municipal  improvement 
and  clubs  for  no  improvement  of  any  kind— 
they  all  and  many  others  are  found  in  this 
very  pleasant  city. 

And  underneath  all  these  associations  and  or- 
ganizations it  is  easy  to  discover  the  growth  of 
a  distinctly  civic  spirit,  also  manifest  in  special 
movements  and  conditions.  The  endeavor  to 
build  in  one  group  buildings  so  important  as  a 
county  court-house,  a  city  hall,  a  public  library 
and  others  reveals  the  willingness  to  surrender 
individual  advantages  to  the  public  weal.  The 
attempt  to  deal  largely  and  justly  with  all 
municipal  franchises  proves  the  presence  of  a 
desire  to  serve  all  as  well  as  each.  The  Muni- 
cipal Association,  an  organization  of  a  few 
gentlemen  of  high  purpose  and  of  patience  as 
well  as  of  great  influence,  has,  in  recommending 
or  in  refusing  to  recommend  certain  candidates 
for  office,  promoted  the  growth  of  a  public 
sense  out  of  which  it  has  itself  sprung.  The 
determination  that  the  public  schools  shall  not 
be  used  for  partisan  purposes  is  perhaps  as 
strong  an  illustration  as  could  be  given  of  the 
presence  and  potency  of  the  civic  spirit  of 
Cleveland. 

In   the   three  great    professions  are    found 


48  Cleveland 

noble  members.  In  this  triple  service  is  mani- 
fest a  high  tableland  of  general  excellence 
rather  than  a  level  broken  by  high  and  distinct 
peaks  of  individual  conspicuousness.  The 


PERRY'S  MONUMENT,  WADE  PARK,  CLEVELAND. 

highest  relative  standing  belongs,  I  judge,  to 
the  members  of  the  medical  profession.  This 
prominence  may  be  the  result  of  the  presence 
for  more  than  fifty  years  of  a  medical  school 
which  has  numbered  among  its  faculty  some 
great  investigators  and  teachers.  But  not  a 


Cleveland 


49 


few  of  those  who  are  examples  of  highest 
service  have  been  unwilling,  it  must  be  said, 
to  remain  in  Cleveland.  As  the  Atlantic 


draws  down  the  level  of  the  Great  Lakes,  so  the 
territory  of  the  Atlantic  draws  away  some 
(not  all)  of  the  more  eminent  members  of  the 
great  professions.  The  supply  however  never 
becomes  exhausted,  nor  does  it  deteriorate. 


VOL.   II.— 4. 


Cleveland 


But  the  most  eminent  of  Cleveland's  peo- 
ple belong  to  the  literary  or  political  class 
rather  than  to  the  strictly  professional.  The 
earliest  of  the  writers  who  spread  Cleveland's 
fame  and  his  own  was  Artemus  Ward.  It 

was  a  short  ca- 
reer  enough 
which  Artemus 
Ward  had,  and 
its  C  level  and 
part  covered 
only  two  years, 
but  while  it  last- 
ed it  bore  one  of 
Cleveland's  daily 
papers  round  the 
world  on  the 
wings  of  his  wit. 
One  cannot  for- 
get that  here 
lived  and  wrote  John  Hay,  beloved  as  among 
the  best  of  men  as  well  as  honored  as  the 
most  efficient  of  Secretaries  of  State.  James 
Ford  Rhodes  here  fitted  himself  while  en- 
gaged in  business  to  begin  his  career  as  a 
fascinating  writer  of  later  American  history. 
Constance  Fenimore  Woolson  was  a  Cleve- 


CONSTANCE  FENIMORE  WOOLSON. 


Cleveland  51 

land  child,  although  not  born  here,  and  the 
Great  Lakes  are  the  scenes  of  her  stories. 
Mrs.  Sarah  Knowles  Bolton,  writer  of  useful 
and  pleasing  biographies  and  other  books, 
divides  her  residence  between  Boston  and 
Cleveland.  Charles  W.  Chesnutt,  too,  is 
esteemed  not  only  for  his  sketches  but  also  for 
a  distinct  charm  of  character.  Cleveland 
would  like  to  claim  that  rare  poet  and  great 
soul,  Edward  Rowland  Sill,  for  his  home  was 
only  a  few  miles  away,  and  in  Cleveland  he 
died,  in  1887.  One  should  not  decline  to  say 
that  books  written  by  college  professors  may 
not  only  be  the  material  for  literature  but  also 
literature  itself.  Such  books,  written  in  Cleve- 
land, are  neither  few  nor  barren. 

The  eminence  in  politics  of  the  Cleveland 
man  belongs  rather  to  the  present  than  to  the 
past.  If  one  should  name  the  gentlemen  who 
have  served  the  city  in  the  national  Congress 
the  names  would  to  most  prove  to  be  without 
significance.  The  name  of  Senator  Payne — 
and  he  had  been  long  associated  with  the  life 
of  the  city — one  recalls,  but  no  name  has  the 
meaning  of  the  name  of  Wade  or  of  Giddings, 
who  came  from  the  little  town  of  Jefferson,  a 
few  miles  east  of  Cleveland,  or  of  Sherman, 


52  Cleveland 

who  came   from  the  south.     Hayes,    Garfield 
and  McKinley  might  be  called  citizens  of  the 


QARFIELD  MEMORIAL,  CLEVELAND. 


Greater    Cleveland.       At  the    present    time, 
however,  in  both   the  Senate  and  the  House 


Cleveland  53 

the  city  is    not   without    able  and  significant 
representation. 

Like  a  piece  of  music  the  chapter  returns  upon 
itself.  It  began  with  the  argument  that  Cleve- 
land is  so  pleasant.  From  the  breakwater 
which  the  Government  builds  to  keep  Cleve- 
land great  and  to  make  it  greater,  along  the 
avenues  of  residence  or  of  trade,  even  through 
its  smoky  and  sooty  atmosphere, —  sign  of 
prosperity, — out  mile  after  mile  to  the  city  of 
the  dead  where  the  well-beloved  Garfield 
sleeps  in  nobly  wrought  sepulchre,  in  all  and 
through  all,  Cleveland  is  pleasant.  Pleasant 
to  live  in,  pleasant  to  work  in,  I  know,  and 
pleasant  to  go  to  heaven  from,  I  hope,  is 
Cleveland. 


CINCINNATI 

ALWAYS  A  STRATEGIC  POINT 

BY  MILTON  E.  AILES 

ON  the  day  before  Christmas,  1 788,  twenty- 
six  adventurous  men,  in  deerskin  hunting 
shirts  and  leggins,  with  tomahawk,  powder- 
horn  and  scalping  knife  at  their  belts,  em- 
barked at  Limestone  on  the  Ohio  River  in 
rude  barges  of  their  own  construction,  and 
fighting  their  way  through  dangerous  floes,  pro- 
ceeded on  a  journey  which  was  to  prove  mem- 
orable in  the  annals  of  American  colonization. 
These  pilgrims  were  well  aware  of  the  perils 
and  tragedies  awaiting  them,  for  their  mission 
was  to  build  them  homes  and  found  a  city  on 
the  edge  of  the  rich  Miami  Valley,  through 
which  mixed  tribes  of  raging  Shawnees,  Sene- 
cas,  Iroquois  and  Miamis  roamed,  determined 
to  halt  the  threatening  advance  of  the  hated 
paleface. 

55 


56  Cincinnati 

The  Indian  braves  realized  that  a  crucial 
moment  in  their  history  had  come.  Their 
allies,  the  British,  had  gone  down  in  defeat 
before  the  Thirteen  Fires.  Henceforth  the 
tribes  must  look  to  their  own  councils,  and 
rely  upon  their  own  strength,  and  they  swore 
grimly  that  the  Ohio  should  run  with  blood, 
and  that  the  advent  of  every  western  pioneer 
should  bring  an  additional  scalp  for  the  grew- 
some  decoration  of  their  lodges. 

But  these  hardy  voyagers,  now  celebrating 
a  frugal  Christmas  as  they  steered  their  course 
down  the  swollen  and  half-frozen  Ohio,  were 
not  to  be  turned  aside  by  impending  conflict 
with  savage  tribes.  To  meet  grave  danger 
like  brave  men  was  for  them  no  new  experi- 
ence ;  they  had  passed  through  seven  years 
of  revolution  ;  they  had  stood  the  trying  tests 
of  honorable  hardships,  and  were  now  making 
their  way  to  found  a  community  which  was 
to  develop  within  a  few  generations  into  one 
of  the  greatest  inland  cities  of  the  world. 
Four  days  they  fought  their  way  through 
floating  masses  of  debris  and  ice,  finally  find- 
ing their  haven  in  Sycamore  Inlet,  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  Licking  River.  To-day  the 
traveller,  smoking  meditatively  in  a  Pullman, 


Cincinnati  57 

will  cover  the  same  distance  before  he  has 
occasion  to  light  a  fresh  cigar. 

In  a  grove  of  sycamores,  osiers  and  water 
maples  they  struck  their  flint  and  built  their 
fires.  There  was  no  theatrical  assertion  of 
dominion,  nor  is  it  on  record  that  sacred  rites 
were  invoked  to  consecrate  the  struggle  for 
civilization  that  was  to  centre  round  this  far 
outpost  of  the  Republic,  and  yet  their  first 
performance  was  one  of  the  most  dramatic  in- 
cidents in  western  history ;  for,  knowing  that 
savage  armies  lurked  in  the  dim  woods  that 
overhung  the  terraces  above  them,  these 
twenty-six  hardy  Anglo-Saxons  dismantled  the 
crafts  that  had  carried  them  into  the  far  wilder- 
ness, and  converted  the  planks  and  timbers  of 
their  barges  into  cabins.  There  was  to  be  no 
retreat.  In  the  name  of  the  new  Democracy, 
they  established  the  primitive  beginnings  of  a 
great  city  in  the  very  centre  of  the  famous 
Indian  path  over  which  for  unnumbered  cen- 
turies naked  aborigines  from  the  Great  Lakes 
to  the  Kentucky  hunting  grounds  had  hurried 
to  battle  or  the  chase. 

The  new  settlement  thus  became  a  bold  and 
significant  challenge  to  the  red  man,  and  in  its 
fate  was  involved  the  future  of  the  West  and 


58  Cincinnati 

of  the  nation.  The  earthquake  of  war,  which 
the  founding  of  Cincinnati  invited,  was  not  long 
delayed,  and  when  it  came  it  startled  Wash- 
ington from  his  incomparable  composure,  and 
shook  the  Republic  to  its  foundations. 

From  the  moment  of  its  inception,  Cincin- 
nati was  the  most  important  point  on  the  Ohio 
River.  Other  settlements,  it  is  true,  at  the 
start  hoped  to  outstrip  Cincinnati  in  popula- 
tion. There  was  Marietta,  founded  two  months 
before,  which  had  a  more  romantic  birth. 
And  there  was  North  Bend,  which  enjoyed  the 
personal  backing  of  John  Cleves  Symmes,  the 
famous  pioneer  who  superintended  the  first 
development  of  the  Miami  Valley,  and  from 
whom  Denman,  Patterson  and  Filson,  the 
promoters  of  the  settlement  that  subsequently 
became  Cincinnati,  purchased  the  site  of  that 
city.  These  and  other  settlements  along  the 
river  were,  for  a  time,  pointed  to  with  pride 
by  their  founders  as  the  coming  commercial 
centres.  Cincinnati,  moreover,  began  life 
with  an  impossible  name.  Filson,  a  fantastic 
pedagogue  who  had  drifted  into  Kentucky, 
combining  a  smattering  of  tongues  with  an 
unbridled  imagination,  compounded  the  name 
"  Losantiville,"  which  means  when  interpreted, 


60  Cincinnati 

"  the  village  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Lick- 
ing-." Historians,  in  malign  humor,  seem  to 
rejoice  in  the  sudden  translation  of  this  pictur- 
esque polyglot  and  town-site  boomer,  remark- 
ing with  a  certain  gleeful  unanimity  of  phrase 
that  "shortly  after  naming  the  settlement  he 
was  scalped  by  the  Indians." 

The  offer  of  free  lots  to  original  settlers  did 
not  give  Cincinnati  pre-eminence,  for  similar 
lures  were  held  out  by  other  aspiring  commu- 
nities along  the  Ohio  ;  nor  will  it  be  seriously 
contended  that  the  location  there  of  Fort 
Washington,  although  this  made  the  spot  the 
headquarters  of  the  American  army  in  the 
Northwest,  gave  Cincinnati  a  superior  start, 
for  the  sense  of  security  expected  because  of 
the  presence  of  the  United  States  garrison 
was  not  abiding.  General  Harmar  marched  to 
defeat  in  1790  from  this  pioneer  fort  and 
arsenal,  and  the  victorious  savages  pursued 
him  until  their  cries  of  exultation  terrified 
the  little  hamlet  clustered  about  the  military 
station. 

Then  came  St.  Clair,  bold  and  assertive. 
Heroes  of  the  Revolution  had  founded  the 
town.  The  fort  had  been  named  in  honor  of  the 
great  General  and  President,  and  as  both  town 


Cincinnati  61 

and  fort  represented  the  extension  into  the 
West  of  that  democratic  strength  of  arms  which 
had  humbled  the  most  powerful  kingdom  of 
Europe,  this  new  settlement  from  which  civili- 
zation was  to  radiate  into  the  western  valleys 
should  be  dignified  with  the  name  of  the  order 
that  held  together  in  fraternal  bond  the  grizzled 
survivors  of  the  great  war.  And  so  Losanti- 
ville,  the  dream  of  a  bizarre  scholar,  became 
Cincinnati. 

In  the  name  of  that  order  and  city,  St. 
Clair  went  to  war.  But  sickness  laid  him 
low,  and  he  was  carried  to  the  field  of  battle 
wrapped  in  flannels.  Managing  the  forces 
against  him  was  Thayendanegea,  the  celebrated 
Mohawk,  or  Joseph  Brandt,  as  the  English 
called  him,  as  astute  as  Tecumseh  and  as 
fearless.  Thayendanegea  had  been  secre- 
tary to  Sir  Guy  Johnson.  He  had  learned 
the  tactics  of  civilized  armies,  and  with  mas- 
terful native  cunning  he  planned  to  annihi- 
late the  forces  of  St.  Clair.  Nearly  fifteen 
hundred  officers  and  men  marched  away  from 
Cincinnati  to  crush  the  semi-savage  captain 
who  had  directed  the  massacres  of  Minisink 
and  Wyoming,  and  back  to  Cincinnati  in 
rout  and  dishonor,  their  guns  and  blankets 


62  Cincinnati 

abandoned,  rushed  in  unspeakable  terror  a 
pitiful  five  hundred.  Before  sundown  on  the 
day  of  that  battle,  November  4,  1791,  nearly  a 
thousand  scalps  of  white  men  dangled  from 
the  wigwams  of  the  armies  of  Thayendanegea. 

Other  communities  along  the  Ohio  looked 
with  envy  upon  the  federal  ramparts  at  Cin- 
cinnati, but  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
garrison  was  at  first  more  fanciful  than  real. 
The  pioneer  clergymen  of  the  town  ventured 
to  Sabbath  services  cautiously,  rifle  in  hand, 
peering  down  the  dim  aisles  hewn  through 
dense  woods  of  linden  and  birch  that  led  to  a 
clearing,  in  the  midst  of  which  some  charred 
stump  served  as  a  pulpit ;  or,  as  congregations 
grew,  a  log-built  chapel  housed  the  earnest 
worshippers.  And  by  the  law  of  Cincinnati 
and  the  territory  every  communicant  was  re- 
quired to  go  to  the  altar  with  loaded  firearms, 
that  savages,  taking  advantage  of  the  hour  of 
prayer  to  attack  the  town,  might  be  repulsed. 
Even  when  pews  were  built  to  give  regularity 
to  worship,  the  brethren  were  commanded  to  sit 
at  the  outer  end,  with  their  rifles  in  readiness. 

If  Fort  Washington  had  not  been  built  or 
had  been  located  elsewhere,  Cincinnati  would 
have  still  become  the  metropolis  of  the 


Cincinnati  63 

Ohio.  Here  water  highways  crossed.  And 
as  it  marked  the  path  over  which  the  red  men 
had  passed  for  ages,  so  now  it  became  the 
intersecting  point  of  civilized  adventure.  Out 
of  the  shadows  of  the  Licking  in  their  pirogues 
Daniel  Boone  and  George  Rogers  Clark  had 
hurried  across  the  Ohio  to  watch  hostile  camp- 
fires  from  the  Cincinnati  hills,  and  thence  had 
descended  upon  the  barbarians  to  avenge 
crimes  committed  in  Kentucky.  The  long 
beaches  at  the  Cincinnati  site  afforded  safe 
landing,  while  the  settlement,  secure  upon  the 
higher  ground  and  the  succession  of  terraces 
beyond,  could  not  be  engulfed  by  the  periodi- 
cal river  floods.  North  and  south  the  rivers 
that  mingled  their  waters  here  furnished  nat- 
ural pathways  to  vast  and  fertile  valleys. 

Here,  too,  a  vanished  race  once  had  had 
a  city  or  perhaps  a  capital,  for  Cincinnati  is 
built  upon  extensive  prehistoric  ruins  of  the 
Mound  Builders.  It  was  a  walled  city  with 
great  gates,  pyramids  and  sacrificial  altars, 
and  over  these  surviving  memorials  of  a  peo- 
ple whose  origin  and  destiny  are  alike  a  mystery 
grew,  when  Cincinnati  was  founded,  oak,  beech, 
sycamore  and  cedar,  whose  concentric  rings 
revealed  that  hundreds  of  years  had  elapsed 


64  Cincinnati 

since  the  disappearance  of  the  race  which  had 
reared  these  shrines  and  tombs  and  city  walls. 
Among  the  prehistoric  pottery,  the  polished 
pipes  of  catlinite  and  stone  axes  such  as  a 
race  of  troglodytes  might  have  swung  to  brain 
abhorrent  monsters  of  forgotten  periods,  they 
will  show  you  in  the  artistic  Cincinnati  Mu- 
seum in  Eden  Park,  the  famed  Cincinnati 
Tablet  exhumed  from  a  tumulus  near  Fifth 
and  Mound  streets  in  that  city.  Some  an- 
tiquarians believe  the  sculptured  stone  to  be 
an  astronomical  calendar  or  a  table  of  meas- 
urement and  calculation.  Some  have  imagined 
it  to  be  a  sacred  relic  from  the  tomb  of  kings. 
Nearby,  in  the  same  museum,  you  see  records 
lucidly  deciphered  from  the  second  Theban 
dynasty,  and  carved  inscriptions,  intelligently 
translated,  from  the  balustrade  of  the  temple 
of  Athene,  but  scholarship  is  dumb  and 
imagination  is  the  only  interpreter  of  these 
strange  mementos  of  a  race  which  found  in 
the  site  of  Cincinnati  a  natural  spot  for  the 
building  of  a  large  and  fortified  city. 

Although  the  star  of  empire  may  have  been 
destined  at  all  hazards  to  pause  over  Cincin- 
nati until  the  tenth  census  of  the  United  States 
should  show  that  the  center  of  the  nation's 


66  Cincinnati 

population  had  moved  westward  to  that  city, 
there  was  grave  alarm  in  the  settlement  when 
the  soldiers  of  St.  Clair  arrived  in  confusion 
and  defeat. 

Generations  have  thrilled  over  the  story  of 
the  officer  on  horseback,  who,  bearing  impor- 
tant news,  hurried  to  the  President,  tossed  his 
bridle  reins  to  an  orderly  and  leaped  up  the 
steps  of  Washington's  reception  room  only  to 
find  that  the  Chief  Executive  was  dining  with 
distinguished  visitors  and  could  not  be  dis- 
turbed. The  officer  was  so  importunate  and 
so  impressive  that  the  secretary  was  impelled 
to  grant  him  audience.  The  grave  President 
listened  without  visible  emotion  to  the  whis- 
pered message  from  Cincinnati,  the  officer 
departed,  and  Washington  returned  to  the 
banquet  table.  Not  one  of  his  guests  could 
guess  that  beneath  the  calm  exterior  the  far- 
seeing  statesman  was  experiencing  one  of  the 
most  tragic  moments  of  his  career.  It  was  not 
merely  that  a  trusted  general  had  minimized 
warning  and  had  met  defeat,  for  Washington 
had  devoted  a  long  life  to  warfare  against 
both  savage  and  civilized  foes,  and  he  was  not 
to  be  easily  moved  by  the  uncertain  fortune 
of  battles.  But  he  knew  that  the  defeat  which 


Cincinnati  67 

the  soldiers  of  Cincinnati  had  encountered  now 
threatened  the  destiny  of  the  country.  The 
East  and  West  were  not  yet  riveted  by  steel 
rails  into  coherent  union.  Beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies  there  were  projects  of  a  protectorate 
under  France  or  Spain,  or  both,  and  bolder 
dreams  of  a  Kentucky  republic.  With  few 
connecting  links  with  the  East,  what  could  hold 
the  western  empire,  since  the  federal  govern- 
ment had  displayed  inability  to  protect  the  pio- 
neers ?  Washington's  guests  departed  unaware 
that  their  illustrious  host  who  had  entertained 
them  with  consummate  decorum  had  during 
those  hours  felt  the  nation  slipping  beneath  his 
feet.  But  when  they  had  gone  the  pent  spirit 
of  the  great  leader,  in  one  of  the  few  instances 
of  his  lifetime,  found  expression  in  tumultuous 
grief  and  rage.  He  voiced  in  advance  the  storm 
of  public  protest,  indignation  and  fear  that  broke 
out  when  the  dismal  tidings  from  Cincinnati 
became  known.  And  when  Congress  learned 
that  Washington  favored  the  creation  of  an 
army  of  five  thousand  to  avenge  the  defeat  of 
Harmar  and  St.  Clair,  there  was  little  in  the  re- 
sourceful vocabulary  of  political  abuse  spared 
the  President.  Anti-expansionists  called  him 
an  imperialist  bent  on  converting  the  Republic 


68  Cincinnati 

into  an  empire.  Why  send  an  army  to  in- 
evitable slaughter  beyond  mountain  frontiers 
in  a  vain  struggle  for  the  wilderness  of  the  In- 
dians when  the  colonies  then  possessed  more 
domain  than  the  citizens  of  the  Republic  would 
ever  be  able  to  use  ? 

Fortunately  the  anti-expansionists,  while 
mordant  and  powerful,  could  not  prevail,  and 
the  war  measures  became  law.  Anthony 
Wayne,  whose  daring  during  the  Revolution 
had  won  for  him  the  admiring  sobriquet  of 
"  Mad,"  then  took  command  and  hastened  to 
Cincinnati  but  none  too  soon.  The  Six  Nations 
with  Little  Turtle  as  their  spokesman  had  fol- 
lowed up  their  victories  by  demands  that  Cin- 
cinnati, the  capital  of  the  Northwest,  should 
be  abandoned  and  that  the  Ohio  should  mark 
the  perpetual  boundary  between  the  white 
man  and  the  red.  British  arms  bristled  be- 
hind this  native  ultimatum,  and  at  the  rapids 
of  the  Maumee,  as  if  to  stay  Wrayne's  advance, 
British  forces  built  a  fort  and  garrisoned  it 
with  three  companies.  The  fears  of  Wash- 
ington seemed  about  to  be  realized. 

But  at  the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers  "  Mad 
Anthony  "  scattered  the  allied  tribes  like  for- 
est leaves.  Nearly  half  a  hundred  mighty 


70  Cincinnati 

chiefs  fell  in  that  historic  engagement,  and  in 
their  defeat  the  Indians  christened  their  con- 
querer  "  Big  Thunder  "  and  for  years  trembled 
when  they  heard  his  name.  Cincinnati  and 
Ohio  were  saved  to  the  Republic. 

Wayne  in  his  campaign  and  in  his  no  less 
notable  treaties  was  brilliantly  seconded  by  a 
young  man  who,  unannounced  and  unwel- 
comed,  landed  at  Cincinnati  on  the  day  the 
broken  columns  of  St.  Clair  fell  back  upon 
the  fort.  The  generals  there  looked  upon 
his  smooth  cheeks  and  his  boyish  frame 
with  soldierly  disdain,  one  remarking  that  he 
would  as  readily  send  his  sister  to  the  front  as 
entrust  this  beardless  neophyte  with  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  border  warfare.  This  youth, 
in  whose  veins  flowed  the  blood  of  one  of 
Cromwell's  generals,  was  to  shame  his  flippant 
critics,  for  he  was  to  win  a  lieutenancy  at  the 
battle  of  Fallen  Timbers,  and  rising  steadily 
in  the  service  of  his  country  was  to  become 
a  western  Napoleon,  avenging  the  disasters  of 
the  River  Basin  and  Detroit,  defeating  the 
powerful  Tecumseh  at  Tippecanoe,  laying  firm 
and  broad  the  foundations  of  northwestern 
statehood,  serving  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  and  finally  going  in  triumph  to  the 


Cincinnati  71 

White  House.  Cincinnati  has  fostered  many 
famous  sons,  but  none  greater  than  William 
Henry  Harrison. 

To  many  new  communities  the  first  settlers 
have  gone  with  the  hope  of  returning  with  for- 
tunes to  their  former  homes.  Cincinnati  was 
founded  and  developed  by  men  and  women 
who  came  to  stay.  Harrison  identified  himself 
with  the  West  at  the  start  by  marrying  the 
daughter  of  John  Cleves  Symmes,  the  Miami 
pioneer,  and  to  the  Harrison  homestead  near 
Cincinnati,  which  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
had  been  an  American  mecca,  the  body  of  the 
famous  General  was  borne  for  burial. 

From  the  start,  self-reliance  has  been  a  pre- 
vailing characteristic  of  Cincinnati.  Its  isola- 
tion in  the  days  of  the  canoe,  the  barge  and  the 
pack-horse,  developed  its  originality.  A  copy 
of  the  Centinel  of  the  Northwest  Territory, 
published  in  1794,  graphically  illustrates  its 
remoteness  at  that  period,  for  news  from  Mari- 
etta had  been  eight  days  in  arriving,  Lexington 
dispatches  were  twenty-one  days  old,  fifty- 
six  days  had  been  consumed  in  getting  the 
latest  information  from  New  York,  and  Euro- 
pean news  antedated  the  day  of  issue  four 
months  and  a  half.  It  was  natural  among 


72  Cincinnati 

such  conditions  that  the  city  should  look  to 
itself  as  the  centre  of  interest,  and  hence  at  an 
early  day  the  journals  of  Cincinnati,  instead  of 
canvassing  distant  localities  for  belated  sensa- 
tions, were  encouraging  local  writers  to  enter- 
tain the  public.  It  was  the  press  of  Cincinnati 
that  first  gave  the  poems  of  Alice  and  Phcebe 
Cary  to  the  world,  and  they  repaid  it  by  con- 
ferring immortality  in  the  world  of  letters 
upon  the  blue  Miami,  where  they  spent  the 
simple  years  of  their  girlhood.  And  thither, 
because  of  the  fame  their  singing  had  won 
them,  traveled  Horace  Greeley  and  other  celeb- 
rities of  the  day  to  do  these  gifted  sisters 
homage.  In  Cincinnati  was  born  Gen.  Wm. 
H.  Lytle,  author  of  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  and 
it  was  the  journalism  of  that  city  that  gave  in- 
spiration to  his  pen.  Here,  too,  was  directed  the 
early  genius  of  Wm.  D.  Howells,  Rutherford 
B.  Hayes,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  and  other  men 
who  have  dignified  literature  or  public  life. 

Savage  yells  had  not  ceased  to  echo  in  its 
surrounding  woods  before  music  began  to 
charm  in  Cincinnati.  Even  before  Wayne 
came  to  silence  the  exultant  war-cries  of  the 
tribes,  Thomas  Kennedy,  in  whose  honor  a 
street  in  Covington  is  named,  used  to  enter- 


CITY  HALL,  CINCINNATI. 


73 


74  Cincinnati 

tain  the  frontier  society  with  his  fiddle,  and  a 
Mr.  McLean,  a  butcher,  took  time  to  train  the 
voices  of  the  primitive  colony.  The  Rev. 
Daniel  Doty,  who  visited  Cincinnati  at  an 
early  day,  was  shocked  at  the  singing  and 
fiddling  and  dancing  in  the  log  cabins,  as  if  the 
people  "  feared  not  God  nor  regarded  Indians." 
Music,  since  directed  in  large  measure  by  the 
German  element  in  the  city,  has  by  its  Chorus, 
its  musical  groves,  its  Saengerbund,  Haydn 
Society,  and  other  clubs,  imparted  distinction 
to  Cincinnati  and  made  it  the  Vienna  of  the 
American  continent. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  pioneer  butcher 
of  the  city  found  time  from  his  chopping  blocks 
to  strike  the  tuning-fork,  for  Cincinnati,  even 
after  the  location  there  of  Fort  Washington, 
was  many  times  on  the  verge  of  starvation, 
and  would  have  starved  but  for  the  timely  help 
of  frontier  hunters  under  the  noted  Colonel 
Wallace,  who  brought  the  meat  of  buffalo,  bear 
and  deer  to  the  stricken  settlement.  To-day 
the  city  dines  well.  In  truth,  it  is  famed  for 
its  good  cheer  and  its  bohemian  independence. 

Cincinnati  is  a  city  of  homes  and  churches, 
and  singularly  free  from  the  crime  that  prowls 
in  the  slums  of  other  cities.  Therefore  some 


Cincinnati  75 

of  its  citizens  take  pride  that  the  city  is  cred- 
ited with  being  one  of  the  greatest  whiskey 
markets  in  America,  that  forty-three  breweries 
and  storage  vaults  are  in  demand,  and  that 
the  city  annually  turns  out  49,000,000  packs 
of  playing-cards,  making  it  the  largest  center 
of  this  industry  in  the  world. 

In  many  industries  Cincinnati  leads.  The 
wealth  of  cities  throughout  the  continent  is 
locked  in  banks  and  vaults  manufactured  in 
Cincinnati.  The  cowboys  on  the  plains  and 
the  horsemen  on  city  paddocks  sit  in  saddles 
fashioned  in  Cincinnati.  Cigars  by  the  millions 
in  this  country  are  packed  in  boxes  manufac- 
tured in  Cincinnati.  It  produces  more  school- 
books  than  any  other  city,  and  is  near  the  head 
of  the  list  in  turning  out  religious  publications. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1794,  a  canoe  left 
Cincinnati  with  a  federal  mailbag  consigned 
to  Pittsburg.  This  marked  the  beginning  of 
regular  service  with  the  East.  In  early  days, 
a  Cincinnati  merchant  seeking  to  buy  goods 
in  New  York  consumed  sixty  days  in  mak- 
ing the  journey  to  the  metropolis.  To-day 
he  may  lunch  in  the  Queen  City,  take  a 
train  and  lunch  the  following  noon  in  Manhat- 
tan. Long  before  the  advent  of  railways, 


76  Cincinnati 

Cincinnati  became  a  center  of  travel  and  dis- 
tribution. As  early  as  1801,  a  full-rigged  brig 
took  on  a  cargo  at  Cincinnati  and  set  sail  for 
the  West  Indies.  Not  long  after,  and  many 
years  before  Fulton  turned  his  attention  to 
Western  waters,  citizens  of  Cincinnati  met  at 
Yeatman's  Tavern  to  consider  a  "  contrivance 
for  transporting  boats  against  the  current  by 
the  power  of  steam  or  elastic  vapor,"  but  with- 
out tangible  results ;  and,  in  fact,  when  the 
first  steamboat  did  paddle  noisily  past  the  city 
the  circumstance  was  dignified  with  only  a 
four-line  notice  in  the  Cincinnati  press. 

Before  long,  however,  the  steamboat  revolu- 
tionized river  travel,  and  thenceforth  Cincinnati 
leaped  by  bounds  from  a  village  to  a  great  city, 
and  every  recurrent  trip  of  these  harbingers  of 
vast  commerce  seemed  to  find  a  new  suburb 
springing  into  bustling  life  on  the  Cincinnati 
uplands. 

The  fact  that  this  city  was  originally  in- 
cluded and  still  remains  in  the  New  Orleans 
customs  district  shows  its  accessibility  to  ocean 
traffic.  Its  superiority  in  water  communica- 
tion is  shown  by  a  computation  made  by  the 
Cincinnati  Chamber  of  Commerce  regarding 
the  relative  cost  of  transporting  freight  from 


' 


: in i a  in 


CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  CINCINNATI. 


77 


78  Cincinnati 

points  of  origin  to  all  parts  of  the  United 
States.  The  comparisons  per  TOO  pounds 
are  as  follows:  From  Cincinnati,  81  cents; 
Chicago,  84  cents  ;  St.  Louis,  88  cents  ;  Minne- 
apolis, $1.22.  A  similar  computation  appli- 
cable to  a  radius  of  600  miles  from  the  point 
of  origin  gives  the  following  averages  per  100 
pounds  :  From  Cincinnati,  66  cents  ;  Chicago, 
73  cents ;  St.  Louis,  75  cents ;  Minneapolis, 
$1.11. 

While  growing  into  greatness,  Cincinnati 
did  not  forget,  in  the  critical  times  of  the  Civil 
War,  its  honorable  history  as  the  former  out- 
post of  the  Republic.  Its  trade  was  largely 
with  the  South,  but  sternly  its  citizens  decided 
that  arguments  in  favor  of  trade  interests 
smacked  of  treason,  and  with  stoic  heroism 
closed  the  city  to  rebellion.  And  when  Lew 
Wallace,  fortifying  Cincinnati  to  anticipate 
attack,  called  for  volunteers,  the  whole  com- 
munity responded,  and  from  the  Ohio  valleys 
came  the  sharp-shooting  "  squirrel  hunters  "  in 
procession  seemingly  endless  to  defend  the 
city. 

Since  then  the  growth  of  Cincinnati  has 
been  in  keeping  with  the  development  of  the 
nation.  It  does  not  hope,  as  Harriet  Mar- 


8o  Cincinnati 

tineau  suggested  during  her  visit  here,  ever 
to  become  the  home  of  the  country's  capital, 
but  it  rejoices  in  being  the  great  city  nearest 
the  American  centre  of  population.  Its  library 
of  a  quarter  of  a  million  volumes  and  its  His- 
torical Society  cherish  the  splendid  stories  of 
its  past  and  the  accumulating  data  of  its  cur- 
rent achievements.  Its  artists  and  citizens 
delight  in  dignifying  that  record  in  bronze  and 
marble  in  the  environing  parks  and  city 
squares. 

The  visitor  to  Cincinnati,  on  a  clear  after- 
noon, should  take  passage  on  an  incline  road, 
rise  to  the  heights  of  Eden  Park,  and  travers- 
ing that  high  plateau,  whose  natural  beauty 
and  landscape  gardening  earn  for  it  its 
name,  find  his  way  to  the  water  tower.  An 
elevator  lifts  him  five  hundred  feet  to  the 
observatory  platform,  where  with  field-glasses 
he  may  behold  the  splendid  panorama  of  Cin- 
cinnati. Far  below,  spanning  the  river  over 
which  "  a  crazy  craft  with  sails  and  paddles " 
once  ferried  the  people,  he  sees  five  massive 
structures  of  steel  and  stone,  including  the 
famous  suspension  bridge,  begun  in  the  early 
part  of  the  Civil  War,  and  by  its  completion 
during  the  stress  of  that  conflict  testifying 


Cincinnati  81 

eloquently  to  the  faith  of  its  citizens  that  strife 
was  not  to  sever  the  nation,  and  that  these 
mammoth  girders  of  steel  would  constitute  an 
important  tie  in  the  inevitable  reunion  of 
North  and  South.  It  was  of  this  structure 
that  James  Parton  wrote  in  1867,  that  the 
whole  population  of  Cincinnati  might  get 
upon  it  without  danger  of  being  let  down  into 
the  water.  The  five  superb  bridges  in  their 
capacity  and  security  afford  marked  contrast 
to  the  earlier  attempts  to  span  the  river  which 
floods  swept  away,  including  the  arched  struc- 
ture which  went  down  in  the  torrent  of  1832, 
accompanied  on  its  seaward  flight  by  a  tum- 
bling Methodist  church  which  the  roaring 
Muskingum  had  added  to  the  universal 
baptism. 

Not  all  of  the  life  that  now  courses  through 
Cincinnati's  streets  could  crowd  upon  its 
bridges,  for  the  people  of  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages across  on  the  Kentucky  shore  belong  in 
every  commercial  and  social  sense  to  Cincin- 
nati, and  swell  its  population  to  the  half-mil- 
lion mark.  In  fact,  within  a  radius  which  the 
vision  from  this  tower  almost  sweeps,  there 
are  a  dozen  ambitious  and  wealthy  Ohio  cities, 
founded  by  the  sturdy  men  of  the  Revolution 


82  Cincinnati 

who  went  forth  from  Cincinnati  and  still 
tributary  to  the  parent  town. 

The  traveler  is  surveying  sacred  ground. 
Mount  Auburn  beside  him  marks  the  site 
where  fell  a  captain  serving  under  George 
Rogers  Clark,  one  of  the  first  of  the  many 
brave  soldiers  of  the  American  Revolution  to 
mingle  their  dust  with  Ohio  soil,  which  thus 
enriched  has  produced  many  Presidents  and 
renowned  statesmen  almost  without  number. 

Leading  away  from  the  city  the  observer  on 
the  tower  sees  the  Miami  and  Erie  Canal, 
which,  connecting  Cincinnati  with  Toledo  and 
furnishing  a  highway  by  which  boats  could 
pass  from  New  Orleans  via  the  Queen  City 
through  various  inland  waters,  finally  reaching 
the  harbor  of  New  York,  made  Cincinnati  as 
early  as  1830  a  half-way  house  for  continental 
traffic.  The  canal  recalls  that  on  the  tow-path 
the  barefooted  Garfield  began  his  career. 

While  glancing  at  the  surrounding  reser- 
voirs from  which  water  is  forced  to  this  tower 
for  the  supply  of  the  terrace-built  city,  the 
traveler  may  recall  the  story  of  the  eccentric 
wanderer,  the  celebrated  Cincinnati  "  water 
witch  "  who  with  hazel  or  willow  crook  went 
about  from  hamlet  to  hamlet  indicating  hidden 


84  Cincinnati 

springs  and  at  whose  direction,  in  truth,  the 
Queen  City  dug  its  first  well. 

Descending  now,  the  traveler  may  view  the 
observatory  which  John  Quincy  Adams  dedi- 
cated to  science,  or  move  with  the  crowds 
flocking  to  the  Zoo  or  to  the  groves  where 
free  concerts  are  given,  or  he  may  find  his 
inspiration  in  roaming  through  the  haunts  that 
still  treasure  the  memory  of  U.  S.  Grant,  or 
visit  the  site  of  taverns  that  entertained  Web- 
ster and  Andrew  Jackson,  who  paused  here 
on  his  way  to  Washington,  and  that  extended 
frequent  hospitality  to  Henry  Clay,  stopping 
here  while  journeying  to  or  from  the  national 
capital. 

Passing  over  the  suspension  bridge,  the  trav- 
eler may  let  the  sun  go  down  upon  his  itiner- 
ary as  he  stands  upon  the  bank  of  the  Licking, 
made  memorable  by  the  vigilant  canoe  cruises 
of  Daniel  Boone.  Near  by  is  the  cottage 
home  of  the  Grants.  Passing  a  Shawnee  ef- 
figy in  front  of  a  tobacconist's  stand,  the  visitor 
sees  the  illumination  of  the  city  beginning  to 
twinkle  against  the  shadowy  background. 
The  multi-colored  lights  of  myriad  street-cars 
flash  over  bridges  and  up  the  steep  streets  of 
the  hill-built  metropolis.  The  headlights  of 


Cincinnati  85 

locomotives  on  nineteen  railroads,  represent- 
ing over  twenty  thousand  miles  of  track,  gleam 
in  and  out  of  the  city.  It  is  a  moving  picture, 
a  perpetual  memorial  and  celebration  of  the 
valiant  labors  of  those  paladins  of  pioneer  con- 
quest who  on  that  Christmas  week,  1 13  years 
ago,  struck  their  flint  and  started  their  fires  in 
the  primeval  woods,  kindling  thereby  a  light 
which  though  flaring  at  times  before  the 
whirlwinds  of  savage  war,  and  all  but  quenched 
with  baptisms  of  fraternal  bloodshed,  now  burns 
with  a  steadiness  and  brilliancy  that  shall  last  as 
long  as  time. 


DETROIT 

THE  QUEEN  CITY 

"  Here,  beside  the  broad,  blue  river  builded, 
I  am  Queen  City  of  the  Lakes." 

BY  SILAS  FARMER 

A  STREAM  of  crystal  clearness,  wide  and 
swiftly  flowing,  the  waters  of  silver  and 
blue  alive  with  fins  and  scales,  a  course  dotted 
with  islands  large  and  small,  wild  ducks  in 
myriads  diving  and  dining  along  shores 
bordered  with  pond  lilies  and  flags,  stretches 
of  yellow  sand  and  bluffs  of  yellow  clay  peo- 
pled with  buffalo,  bear  and  deer,  with  wide 
leagues  of  grassy  pastures  and  pleasing  vistas 
beyond,  walnuts,  oaks  and  maples  sentinelling 
the  scene,  and  skies  and  sunsets  of  unrivalled 
azure  and  gold  adding  the  final  touch  of 
beauty  —  such  was  Nature's  invitation  to  the 
first  visitors  to  the  Detroit. 


The  earliest  of  t',\« 


h  travellers  to  this 


88  Detroit 

region  was  the  Sieur  Joliet,  who  came  in  1670, 
and  was  followed  the  same  year  by  the  Sulpi- 
cian  priests,  Galinee  and  Dollier.  Eight  years 
later  La  Salle  in  Le  Griffon,  the  first  sail-ves- 
sel on  the  Great  Lakes,  passed  through  the 
"strait  of  Lake  Erie,"  and  July  24,  1701, 
Cadillac  and  his  company  landed  at  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Detroit  to  establish  a  fort  and 
permanent  settlement. 

The  desire  to  escape  from  Roman  or  Pro- 
testant oppression  which  led  to  the  found- 
ing of  Baltimore  and  Plymouth  had  no 
place  in  the  thought  of  those  who  colonized 
Acadia  and  the  West.  True,  there  had  been 
one  or  two  feeble  efforts  to  found  French 
Protestant  colonies  in  America.  The  great 
Coligny  sent  a  Huguenot  colony  to  Florida 
more  than  fifty  years  before  the  Mayflower 
arrived  at  Plymouth  Rock.  The  Spaniards, 
however,  fell  upon  and  hanged  these  colonists, 
their  placards  stating  that  it  was  done,  "  not 
because  they  were  Frenchmen,  but  because 
they  were  heretics."  Under  Cardinal  Riche- 
lieu, all  Protestant  emigration  to  America  was 
discouraged  for  fear  the  emigrants  would  unite 
with  the  English  or  make  converts  of  the  In- 
dians. The  conversion  of  the  Indians  to  the 


Detroit 


89 


Romish  faith  was  always  specially  designated 
among  the  objects  of  French  enterprise  in 
America.  The  charter  of  the  "  Hundred 
Associates"  of  April  29,  1627,  expressly  stated 


CADILLAC  SQUARE,  SHOWING  CITY  HALL  AND  MAJESTIC  BUILDING. 

that  it  was  granted  for  the  primary  purpose  of 
converting  to  the  Catholic  faith  the  Indians, 
usually  designated  as  "worshippers  of  Baal." 
All  these  motives  played  their  part  in  the 
founding  of  Detroit,  but  not  quite  so  impor- 
tant a  part  as  the  commercial  motive. 


90  Detroit 

Antoine  Laumet  de  la  Mothe  Cadillac,  the 
founder  and  commandant,  was  no  mere  adven- 
turer. In  courage,  in  scholarship,  in  mental 
grasp  and  in  general  acumen  he  deserves  a 
place  with  the  founders  of  Baltimore  and 
Philadelphia.  The  confessedly  fictitious  de- 
scription of  his  personal  appearance  and  the 
one-sided  analysis  of  his  character  by  Gayarre 
were  founded  on  incomplete  knowledge.  As 
an  officer  of  the  French  marine,  Cadillac  fear- 
lessly crossed  the  Atlantic  again  and  again  as 
though  it  were  but  an  inland  ferry.  On  the 
coast  of  America  he  explored  the  harbors  and 
islands  of  New  England  and  noted  at  length 
their  peculiarities  and  advantages.  As  a  sol- 
dier and  knight  of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis, 
he  penetrated  into  the  wildest  of  western 
wilds,  served  as  commandant  at  Mackinaw, 
Detroit  and  Mobile,  repeatedly  defeated  the 
Indians  at  these  posts,  and  compelled  them  to 
sue  for  peace.  He  had  the  scholar's  habit  of 
writing  detailed  memoirs  of  the  places  he  es- 
tablished or  was  commanded  to  inspect.  He 
wielded  a  pen  as  sharp  as  his  sharp  sword. 
The  opponents  of  his  plans  had  need  to  fear  its 
point.  He  spared  no  words.  "  A  traveller 
cannot  afford  to  stop,"  he  said,  "  for  every  dog 


Detroit  91 

that  barks."  And  illustrating  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  French  lived  so  much  among  the 
Indians  that  they  became  like  Indians  them- 
selves, he  sententiously  said,  "With  wolves 
one  learns  to  howl." 

He  denounced  frauds  boldly.  Count  Fron- 
tenac  spoke  highly  of  his  "  valor,  wisdom, 
experience  and  good  conduct."  It  was  no 
ordinary  man  to  whom  a  wife  could  by  word 
and  deed  alike  bear  witness  as  Cadillac's  wife 
bore  witness  to  her  husband.  After  they  had 
been  married  for  fourteen  years,  and  when  the 
colony  was  less  than  two  years  old,  in  com- 
pany with  Madame  Touty,  in  an  open  canoe 
with  Indians  and  woodsmen  for  an  escort,  she 
made  the  journey  of  a  thousand  miles  from 
Quebec  to  Detroit  in  the  fall  of  the  year  when 
fierce  winds  and  rough  waves  and  heavy  rains 
might  be  expected.  When  one  of  the  Quebec 
ladies  reminded  her  in  advance,  "  At  Detroit 
you  will  die  of  ennui"  she  replied,  "  A  woman 
who  loves  her  husband  as  she  should  has  no 
stronger  attraction  than  his  company  wherever 
he  may  be  ;  everything  else  should  be  indiffer- 
ent to  her." 

The  American  cities  that  equal  us  in  age 
and  population  are  few  indeed.  Two  hundred 


92  Detroit 

years  are  behind  us,  and  three  hundred  thou- 
sand people  fill  our  homes.     Our  people  are 
and  ever  have  been  of  many  types.     In  the 
early  days  coureurs  des  bois,  bluff,  hearty,  reck- 
less, and  Indians,  the   squaw  trudging  along 
bent  double    under  her  basket  of  bead-work, 
the  unburdened  brave  stalking  proudly,  noise- 
lessly   along,    frequented    the    place.       Dutch 
traders  from  the  Mohawk  coasting  along  the 
Lakes  early  brought  negro  slaves  from  Albany.1 
In  our  social  life  the  Gallic  spirit  remains  to 
soften  and  harmonize.     The  dash  of  gorgeous 
coloring  which  the  almost  continuous  existence 
here  of  a  military  post  has  given,  the  distinc- 
tion and  grace  which  the  early  arrival  of  some 
of  old  Virginia's  noblest  children  has  lent,  the 
intellectual  vigor  which  Puritan  New  England 
has  contributed,  and  the  solidity  and  conserva- 
tism furnished  by  the  presence  of  the  many 

1  Under  treaty  stipulations  negro  and  Indian  slaves  were  held 
until  Michigan  became  a  State.  Detroit  has  always  had  to  do  with 
slavery  questions.  Before  the  Civil  War  it  was  an  important  station 
on  the  "  Underground  Railroad,"  and  occasionally  slaves  were  seized 
on  our  streets.  Some  of  the  conspicuous  leaders  of  the  party  that 
secured  the  abolition  of  slavery  lived  at  one  time  or  another  in 
Detroit.  General  Grant's  home  may  still  be  seen.  United  States 
Senator  Zachariah  Chandler  of  "  blood-letting  letter  "  fame  was  one 
of  our  oldest  merchants,  and  the  notable  "  fire-in-the-rear  "  editorial 
appeared  in  a  local  paper. 


5   o 

II 

>     Q 


85 


94  Detroit 

wealthy  landed  proprietors  have  all  shared  in 
the  making  of  a  social  life  as  rich  as  it  is 
attractive. 

After  the  first  settlers  came  strange  sights. 
Round-towered  and  red-painted  windmills  be- 
gan to  dot  the  banks  of  the  Detroit,  and  all 
"along  shore"  narrow  farms,  a  city  block  in 
width  and  fifty  times  as  long,  stretched  from 
the  river  rearward  to  meadows  and  woods. 
The  canoe  and  the  pirogue  were  always  in  the 
stream,  and  in  them  the  French  girls  were  as 
much  at  home  as  mermaids  in  the  sea.  The 
fort  was  the  centre  of  every  interest.  It  was 
a  log  stockade  enclosing  a  plot  of  ground  three 
or  four  hundred  feet  square,  and  lay  south  of 
what  is  now  Jefferson  Avenue,  occupying  at 
least  the  western  half  of  the  block  between 
Griswold  and  Shelby  streets.  Within  it  com- 
mandant and  soldiers  were  gathered,  the 
church  was  located,  justice  administered  and 
goods  were  kept  on  sale. 

A  large  influx  of  immigrants,  especially  in 
1749  and  1754,  caused  the  extension  of  the 
stockade,  but  at  no  time  were  grants  of  farms 
made  within  several  hundred  feet  of  the  fort. 
The  intervening  space  was  in  large  part  used 
as  a  "  common  field,"  and  year  after  year  oats 


Detroit  95 

and  onions  were  produced  where  only  paving- 
stones  could  now  be  raised.  Eventually  of 
course  the  houses  overflowed  the  stockade, 
stretching  towards  the  farms,  but  for  a  long 
time  the  owners  of  farms  on  either  side  resisted 
any  encroachment  of  streets  or  people,  and  for 
many  years  the  city  could  grow  only  north- 
wards. The  French  farms  that  hemmed  in 
the  city  possessed  many  advantages.  Even 
when  included  within  the  city  they,  for  many 
years,  practically  escaped  taxation  because  un- 
divided into  lots.  Indeed,  until  a  compara- 
tively recent  period  there  was  no  taxation  of 
real  estate  and  really  no  need  for  any ;  for 
whenever  the  city  needed  money  it  sold  a  lot. 
This  reckless  style  of  living  continued  till  1834, 
the  extraordinary  expenses  connected  with  the 
cholera  season  of  that  year  making  larger  taxa- 
tion needful. 

In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  recall  an  un- 
usual state  of  affairs  that  placed  many  lots 
at  the  disposal  of  the  city.  In  the  year  17/8, 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  English, 
to  protect  them  against  the  Americans,  erected 
a  large  fort  where  the  new  Post-office  is  lo- 

o 

cated,  in  the  block  bounded  by  Shelby,  Wayne, 
Lafayette  and  Fort  streets.  At  the  close  of 


96  Detroit 

the  war  this  fort,  with  its  grounds,  passed  into 
the  possession  of  the  United  States.  In  1826 
Congress  gave  this  property,  worth  to-day  more 
than  a  score  of  millions,  to  the  city  whose  ex- 
penses had  before  been  paid  by  fees  derived 
from  various  licensed  persons  and  pursuits. 
Upon  the  reception  of  this  property  the  city 
fathers  deemed  it  necessary  to  level  and  grade 
the  old  fort  and  its  appurtenances  and  to  lay  out 
streets  thereon.  The  cost  of  the  work  was  paid 
by  the  issuing  of  city  "  shinplasters  "  which 
could  soon  be  bought  for  sixty  cents  on  the  dol- 
lar. The  lots  laid  out  within  the  limits  of  the  old 
cantonment  were  sold  at  nominal  prices,  the 
purchasers  paying  for  them  in  the  depreciated 
city  bills.  The  result  was  that  the  net  pro- 
ceeds to  the  city  from  the  sale  of  this  extensive 
domain  amounted  to  only  $15,030,  and  even 
this  was  not  permanently  invested,  and  no  ves- 
tige of  the  funds  remains.  In  contrast  to  the 
dissipation  by  the  city  of  valuable  property  is 
the  wisdom  displayed  by  individual  holders 
whose  property  later  became  worth  millions. 
If  the  city  officers  of  that  day  had  possessed 
foresight  as  well  as  power,  they  might  have  so 
conserved  the  city's  possessions  as  to  have 
made  Detroit  an  Utopia.  All  the  public  schools 


98  Detroit 

and  other  civic  buildings  and  appurtenances 
could  have  been  built  and  paid  for,  and  the 
city  government  could  to-day  be  carried  on 
without  taxation,  or  at  least  with  only  a  tithe 
of  the  amount  that  is  now  required  to  be  paid. 

It  was  during  the  decades  of  1820-1840  that 
the  tide  of  emigration  from  East  to  West 
reached  its  height.  It  began  in  1825,  on  the 
completion  of  the  Erie  Canal,  and  was  greatly 
increased  by  the  larger  number  of  steamboats 
on  the  Lakes  that  immediately  followed.  The 
opening  in  1854  of  the  first  railroad  from  the 
East  to  the  West,  the  Great  Western  of  Can- 
ada, made  it  possible  to  go  still  faster  and 
with  greater  ease,  and  during  the  whole  period 
Detroit  gained  largely  in  population.  The 
introduction  of  street-cars  in  1863  afforded 
opportunity  for  easy  access  to  outlying  regions, 
and  since  then  the  city  limits  have  been  sev- 
eral times  extended,  until  now  they  embrace 
an  area  of  not  far  from  thirty  square  miles, 
with  a  river  frontage  of  seven  miles. 

Contemporaneously  with  the  rush  of  settlers 
to  the  State  and  city  between  1830  and  1840, 
came  what  is  known  as  the  "  flush  times  of 
1837."  Emigration  to  the  West  had  become 
almost  a  stampede,  both  steam  and  sail  vessels 


Detroit  99 

were  crowded  to  their  utmost,  and  knowing 
the  dearness  of  Eastern  lands  and  the  cheap- 
ness at  which  Western  lands  could  be  pur- 
chased, nearly  every  person  came  prepared  to 
buy  and  did  buy  lands  for  settlement  or  spec- 
ulation. So  great  was  the  rush  that  all  careful 
preliminaries  were  dispensed  with,  and  if  only 
a  title  could  be  shown,  anything  that  "  lay 
outdoors "  could  be  disposed  of.  Town 
sites  were  a  favorite  form  of  investment,  and 
the  supply  kept  pace  with  the  demand.  Sur- 
veyors and  draftsmen  were  soon  busy  day  and 
night  representing  imaginary  cities  on  paper. 
On  these  plans,  literally  like  "Jonah's  gourd/' 
there  sprang  up  in  a  night,  stores,  dwellings 
and  court-houses,  indeed,  all  the  appurte- 
nances of  an  old  established  town.  The  era  of 
"  wildcat "  banks  had  just  begun  and  the 
principal  security  of  their  bills  was  the  land 
covered  by  these  imaginary  towns.  Theoret- 
ically, twenty  per  cent,  of  the  bills  issued  by 
the  too  easily  organized  banks  were  to  be  se- 
cured by  specie  deposits.  Actually,  not  five 
per  cent,  was  so  deposited.  The  same  coin- 
in  some  cases  in  the  same  boxes — was  exhibited 
by  a  score  of  different  banks,  and  in  some  in- 
stances "  coin  boxes  "  were  filled  with  iron  and 


ioo  Detroit 

other  substitutes  for  specie.  These  frauds 
were  winked  at  by  bank  commissioners,  who 
should  have  inspected  the  contents  of  the 
boxes.  There  was  thus  a  trinity  of  imagin- 
ings,— imaginary  towns,  imaginary  banks  and 
imaginary  inspection.  When  the  bubbles 
burst  there  were  left  in  some  places  towns  and 
houses  without  a  single  inhabitant,  and  certain 
of  these  houses  contained  room  after  room  in 
which  the  walls  were  literally  papered  with 
bank  bills  in  sheets  that  had  never  been  cut 
apart  or  signed. 

The  most  important  local  event  was  the  fire 
of  June  1 1,  1805,  which  destroyed  every  house 
in  the  city  save  one.  The  memory  of  the  fire 
is  preserved  in  the  present  seal  of  the  city, 
the  mottoes,  Resurget  Cineribiis,  "  She  has 
risen  from  the  ashes,"  and  Speramus  Meliora, 
"  We  hope  for  better  things,"  representing 
both  prophecy  and  fulfilment.  Out  of  the 
fire  grew  an  entirely  new  plan  of  the  town, 
new  lot  alignments  and  assignments,  and  a 
new  form  of  government.  The  former  streets, 
twelve  feet  wide,  grew  into  broad  avenues,  and 
the  years  have  added  areas  and  improvements 
which  in  any  city  would  be  marks  of  prosperity 
and  beauty. 


Detroit  101 

The  form  of  government  which  the  fire  in- 
troduced was,  however,  its  unique  result.  The 
beginnings  of  the  strange  methods  of  govern- 
ment that  obtained  are  found  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Ohio  Company,  and  in  that  notable 
document,  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  Under  the 
latter,  Congress  was  to  appoint  a  governor 
whose  term  was  for  three  years,  unless  sooner 
revoked,  who  was  required  to  possess  in  free- 
hold an  estate  of  one  thousand  acres  in  the 
territory ;  a  secretary  for  the  term  of  four 
years,  unless  revoked,  who  was  required  to 
have  five  hundred  acres  of  land ;  and  three 
judges,  any  two  of  whom  constituted  a  court 
to  have  common-law  jurisdiction,  and  each  of 
whom  was  required  to  own  five  hundred  acres 
of  land. 

The  governor  and  judges  were  appointed 
January  11,  1805.  Judges  Woodward  and 
Bates  arrived  at  Detroit  June  i2th,  and  found 
the  town  wiped  out  by  the  fire  of  the  previous 
day.  A  few  stone  chimneys  and,  near  the  fire 
line,  several  antique  pear  trees  alone  remained. 
Governor  Hull  arrived  on  the  evening  of  July 
i st.  The  date  of  the  arrival  of  Judge  Griffin  is 
unknown.  In  many  respects  the  Governor 
and  judges  were  well  fitted  to  enter  upon  and 


102  Detroit 

complete  the  laying  out  of  a  new  Detroit. 
Judge  Woodward  came  from  Alexandria,  Va., 
and  understood  and  admired  the  plan  of  Wash- 
ington, then  new.  He  manifestly  desired  and 
determined  that  Detroit  should  be  modelled 
after  that  "  City  of  Magnificent  Distances." 
Sections  of  his  plan  as  drawn  by  A.  F.  Hull, 
the  son  of  the  Governor,  could  be  laid  upon 
the  plan  of  Washington  and  matched  to  a  line. 
There  was  much  delay  in  adopting  the  plan  ; 
but  after  summering  and  wintering  as  best  they 
could,  however,  among  their  friends  outside, 
the  inhabitants  were  gratified  with  the  news 
that  April  21,  1806,  Congress  had  authorized 
the  Governor  and  judges  to  lay  out  a  new 
town,  build  a  court-house  and  jail,  dispose  of 
ten  thousand  acres  near,  give  former  owners 
and  householders  lots,  convey  lots  to  others 
and  in  general  settle  all  details  therewith  con- 
nected. It  was  not,  however,  until  Septem- 
ber 6,  1806,  or  four  months  after  the  date 
of  the  act,  that  the  Governor  and  judges 
held  their  first  meeting.  Interminable  slow- 
ness seems  to  have  been  their  purpose ; 
plans  and  counter-plans,  change  and  repeated 
change  in  surveys,  their  method.  Lots  were 
numbered  and  renumbered,  streets  laid  out 


104  Detroit 

on  paper,  obliterated  and  then  laid  out 
anew  in  new  directions  and  locations.  De- 
cisions were  bandied  about  and  referred  from 
one  person  or  authority  to  another,  and  ques- 
tions of  ownership  of  lots,  like  a  shuttlecock, 
were  tossed  to  and  fro.  Plans  were  prepared, 
approved,  used  and  then  discarded.  Every 
new  difficulty  and  scheme  seemed  to  give  rise 
to  new  and  radically  different  lot  outlines  and 
numbers.  Lots  were  capriciously  granted 
and  as  capriciously  withdrawn.  Without 
bond  or  books  of  account,  without  method 
other  than  the  method  of  not  leaving  any 
record  of  what  moneys  were  received  or  how 
expended,  they  did  as  they  pleased.  As  a 
result,  for  a  year  and  a  half  after  the  fire  there 
was  not  a  single  house  erected,  and  up  to 
May,  1807,  deeds  had  been  given  for  only 
nineteen  lots.  Meantime,  the  debris  of  the 
fire  covered  the  site  of  the  ancient  village,  the 
blackened  stone  chimneys  standing  as  monu- 
ments of  the  disaster  and  of  the  incompetency 
or  worse  of  those  in  authority. 

The  three  judges  and  the  Governor  in 
themselves  possessed  all  power,  legislative, 
executive,  judicial.  They  made  laws,  built 
court-houses,  issued  scrip,  laid  out  streets  and 


Detroit  105 

lots,  gave  away  lots  to  churches,  schools,  socie- 
ties and  individuals  and  were  practically 
"  Lords  of  the  Manor  of  Detroit."  The 
adoption  of  laws  from  the  original  thirteen 
States,  which  was  all  that  they  were  author- 
ized to  do,  became  under  their  methods  a  mere 
burlesque.  A  writer  of  that  period  openly 
charged,  and  exaggerated  but  little  in  saying, 
that  they  would 

"  parade  the  laws  of  the  original  States  before  them 
on  the  table,  and  cull  letters  from  the  laws  of  Mary- 
land, syllables  from  the  laws  of  Virginia,  words  from 
the  laws  of  New  York,  sentences  from  the  laws  of 
Pennsylvania,  verses  from  the  laws  of  Kentucky,  and 
chapters  from  the  laws  of  Connecticut." 

It  is  due  to  one  or  two  of  those  associated 
as  judges  during  a  part  of  this  regime,  to  say 
that  Judge  Woodward,  who  was  in  office  for 
the  entire  period,  was  very  largely  responsible 
for  the  conditions  that  existed.  The  accession 
of  General  Cass  as  Governor,  the  establishing 
of  the  Detroit  Gazette,  which  exposed  the  pro- 
ceedings, and  the  coming  of  new  immigrants 
finally  secured  sentiment  and  people  sufficient 
to  have  a  General  Assembly.  And  with  freer 
discussion  and  elective  methods,  order  began 
to  reign  after  twenty  years  of  disorder. 


io6  Detroit 

In  military  matters  Detroit  has  had  an 
almost  continuous  series  of  startling  experi- 
ences. Indians,  French,  English,  and  Ameri- 
cans have  all  struggled  in  and  about  the  city. 
Blockhouses,  stockades,  forts,  and  cannon  have 
defended  it.  Stories  of  attacks,  sieges,  battles, 
massacres,  and  conspiracies  crowd  its  annals. 
The  tramp  of  regiments,  the  challenge  of  sen- 
tinels, the  bugle-call,  the  drum-beat,  and  the 
war-whoop  of  the  savage  were  familiar  sounds 
in  its  past. 

Within  two  years  after  Fort  Pontchartrain 
was  erected,  hostile  Indians  surrounded  the 
stockade,  and  at  varying  intervals  during  many 
subsequent  years  the  savages  sought  to  dis- 
lodge the  French  and  destroy  their  fortifica- 
tions. The  French  traders,  however,  soon 
demonstrated  that  they  were  willing  to  deal 
more  liberally  than  the  English,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  but  that  many  Indians  came  to 
prefer  French  methods  and  manners,  for  they 
finally  united  with  the  French  during  the  French 
and  Indian  War  in  attacking  the  English 
settlements.  The  victory  of  Wolfe  at  Quebec 
in  i  759  and  the  consequent  surrender  of  De- 
troit to  the  English  did  not  please  the  Indians, 
and  before  the  final  treaty  of  peace  was  signed, 


Detroit  107 

Pontiac,  an  Ottawa  chief,  who  had  declared 
his  intention  to  "  stand  in  the  path,"  formed 
his  conspiracy  to  overthrow  all  the  English 
posts.  He  secured  the  co-operation  of  a  num- 
ber of  tribes  and  in  May,  1763,  prepared 
to  strike  at  Detroit.  Fortunately,  as  has 
happened  more  than  once  in  similar  plots,  fe- 
male sympathy  and  tenderness  caused  the  rev- 
elation of  his  design.  An  Indian  maiden  gave 
warning  to  Gladwin,  then  commanding  at  De- 
troit, who  made  preparations  to  foil  the 
conspirators.  On  the  morning  of  May  7th, 
Pontiac  and  a  number  of  his  warriors  sought 
admission  to  the  fort. 

On  arriving  at  the  gateway,1  Pontiac  and  his 
warriors  were  freely  admitted,  but  found  the 
garrison  under  arms,  the  cannons  loaded  for 

1  The  gateway  was  located  on  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Jefferson 
Avenue  and  Griswold  Street,  and  a  bronze  tablet  there  erected 
bears  a  representation  of  an  Indian  warrior  and  the  following 
inscription  : 

"  This  Tablet  designates  the  site  of  one  of  the  gateways  of  Fort 
Detroit.  The  original  stockade  was  known  as  Fort  Pontchartrain 
and  was  erected  when  the  city  was  founded  in  1701. 

"  Through  the  gateway  here  located  Pontiac,  the  Ottawa  chief, 
with  a  band  of  Indians,  passed  on  May  seventh,  1763,  intending  to 
surprise  and  massacre  the  garrison. 

"  The  exposure  of  his  plot  on  the  previous  day  caused  the  defeat 
of  his  plans  and  gave  the  English  the  supremacy  in  this  region  until 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War." 


io8  Detroit 

service  and  the  inhabitants  ready  for  battle. 
At  a  glance  he  foresaw  the  certain  failure  of 
his  scheme,  and  after  being  warned  by  Glad- 
win  that  his  plot  had  been  discovered,  he  re- 
tired still  protesting  friendship.  Within  a  day 
or  two  afterwards  he  threw  off  all  attempts  at 
concealment,  summoned  his  warriors,  massa- 
cred several  persons  on  the  island  now  known  as 
Belle  Isle  and  commenced  a  siege  which  lasted 
for  five  weary  months.  During  the  siege,  the 
garrison  was  relieved  several  times  by  provisions 
and  ammunition  from  Niagara,  an  don  July  2gth, 
by  the  arrival  of  280  soldiers  commanded  by 
Captain  Dalyell  together  with  20  rangers  from 
New  Hampshire  under  Major  Robert  Rogers. 
Captain  Dalyell  now  determined  to  "  turn  the 
tables  "  by  an  attack  on  the  Indians.  Glad  win 
opposed  the  idea,  but  was  compelled  to  yield, 
and  on  July  3ist  250  troops  in  three  detach- 
ments marched  against  the  savages.  Pontiac  in 
some  way  was  informed  of  the  plan  and,  am- 
bushed on  the  border  of  Parents'  Creek,  after- 
wards called  Bloody  Run,  awaited  the  approach 
of  the  soldiers.  As  the  latter  reached  a  small 
bridge  that  then  crossed  the  stream  not  far  from 
what  is  now  the  corner  of  Jefferson  Avenue  and 
Adair  Street,  they  heard  the  war-whoop  of  the 


Detroit  109 

Indians  and  from  every  side  bullets  thinned 
their  ranks.  Dalyell  and  seventeen  others  were 
killed,  nearly  forty  soldiers  wounded  and  sev- 
eral captured.  Within  six  hours  after  this 
ignominious  failure,  the  rest  were  glad  to  be 
within  the  shelter  of  the  stockade. 

The  siege  was  then  renewed  with  increased 
vigor  until  at  last  General  Gage  of  Boston 
determined  to  send  a  force  large  enough  to  sub- 
due the  Indians.  Accordingly,  Colonel  Brad- 
street  was  put  in  command  of  a  combined  force 
of  i oo  friendly  Indians,  900  Canadians,  and  a  de- 
tachment of  219  Connecticut  militia  in  charge 
of  the  noted  Israel  Putnam.  They  came  by  wa- 
ter from  Albany  and  reached  Detroit  on  August 
26,  1 764.  Their  bateaux  and  barges  blocked 
the  river  ;  the  display  of  flags  and  force  alarmed 
the  Indians,  and  made  them  yield  before  an 
army  such  as  they  had  never  seen  before. 

Meantime  the  war-clouds  of  the  Revolution 
were  gathering.  The  common  impression  is 
that  the  war  was  fought  in  the  East,  around 
Boston  and  New  York.  The  important 
events  that  occurred  at  Detroit  are  usually 
ignored  ;  that,  too,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  at 
no  other  point  was  so  much  use  made  of  the 
Indians  by  the  English. 


1 10  Detroit 

King  George  and  his  ministers  evidently 
feared  that,  unless  kept  busy  defending  their 
homes,  the  hardy  settlers  of  Western  Virginia 
and  Tennessee  would  aid  their  brother  colo- 
nists in  the  East.  In  order  to  prevent  them 
from  so  doing,  deliberate  and  pitiless  plans 
were  made  to  incite  the  Indians  against  the 

o 

western  settlers.  Indians  were  invited  to  De- 
troit from  as  far  west  and  south  as  Arkansas, 
and  gathered  here  by  thousands.  They  were 
feasted,  clothed  and  furnished  with  guns,  scalp- 
ing-knives,  and  tomahawks.  Blankets,  shirts, 
scarlet  cloth  and  other  things  were  given. 
The  value  of  the  requisitions  for  this  post  in  a 
single  year  reached  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars.  The  writer  has  personally  seen  the 
original  record  of  the  supplying  of  "  sixteen 
gross  of  red-handled  scalping-knives."  Fully 
equipped,  they  set  forth  on  their  forays,  re- 
turning with  men,  women,  and  children  as 
prisoners,  and  with  many  scalps.  The  expe- 
dition which  perpetrated  the  "  Massacre  of 
Wyoming  "  was  equipped  at  this  post,  as  was 
also  the  expedition  of  Captain  Bird  against 
Kentucky  at  a  cost  of  over  $300,000.  The 
writer  has  an  original  account  book  of  that 
period  giving  the  names  and  pay  per  diem  of 


Detroit  1 1 1 

the  French  who  as  guides  and  interpreters 
accompanied  the  English  and  Indians  on  some 
of  their  raids.  The  noted  Daniel  Boone  was 
brought  as  a  prisoner  to  Detroit  after  one  of 
these  expeditions.  After  the  return  of  each  party 
the  guns  of  the  fort  were  fired,  the  prisoners  and 
scalps  were  counted  and  recorded,  and  again 
the  Indians  were  feasted  and  given  presents. 

It  was  during  these  days  that  Col.  A.  S.  De 
Peyster  was  in  command  at  Detroit,  but  he 
was  not  in  full  sympathy  with  such  savage 
warfare.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  to 
him  that  Burns,  while  in  his  sick-chamber, 
dedicated  his  last  poem,  on  "  Life,"  beginning  : 

"  My  honored  Colonel,  deep  I  feel 
Your  interest  in  the  poet's  weal,"  etc. 

De  Peyster  himself  could  turn  a  bit  of  society 
verse.  On  one  occasion  he  addressed  the 
following  lines  to  the  wife  of  Lieutenant  Pool 
England,  then  at  Detroit : 

"  Accept,  fair  Ann,  I  do  beseech, 
This  tempting  gift,  a  clingstone  peach, 
The  finest  fruit  I  culled  from  three, 
Which  you  may  safely  take  from  me. 
Should  Pool  request  to  share  the  favor, 
Eat  you  the  peach,  give  him  the  flavor  ; 
Which  surely  he  can't  take  amiss, 
When  't  is  so  heightened  by  your  kiss." 


I  12 


Detroit 


The  English  officers  then  at  Detroit  did  not 
have  an  easy  life.  There  were  resident  rebel 
Americans  who  made  much  trouble  —  some 

of  whom  were 
sent  away  and 
others  fined. 
American  pris- 
oners, too,  were 
brought  here. 
Some  were  com- 
pelled to  work 
in  the  streets,  in 
ball  and  chain, 
and  others  were 
forced  to  cut 
wood  on  Belle 
Isle. 

At  last  Detroit 
and  the  West 
were  yielded  by  treaty  to  the  United  States, 
but  on  one  pretext  or  another  they  were  not 
actually  surrendered  until  July  n,  1796.  On 
that  day  Fort  Lernoult  for  the  first  time  dis- 
played the  Stars  and  Stripes.1 

The  animosities  growing  out  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  were  not  allayed  by  the  peace 

1  The  Post-office  on  Fort  Street,  which  occupies  a  portion  of  the 


COL.  ARENT  SCHUYLER  DE  PEYSTER. 


EVACUATION  DAY  TABLET  ON  FORT  STREET  ENTRANCE  OF  POST-OFFICE. 
8  113 


ii4  Detroit 

declarations.  The  Indians  continued  to  hold 
allegiance  to  King  George,  and  frequently 
massacred  Americans.  British  officials  on 
various  occasions  assumed  such  authority  that 
at  last  there  came  a  renewal  of  strife  and  the 
War  of  1812.  Again  Detroit  became  a  focal 
point.  Twelve  hundred  troops  from  Ohio, 
under  command  of  Governor  Hull,  were  soon 
marching  hither  to  secure  the  safety  of  De- 
troit. Governor  Hull's  trunk,  containing  mil- 
itary papers  and  plans  of  great  value,  which 
had  been  sent  by  boat,  was  captured  near 
Maiden,  Canada,  by  the  British  who  had  ap- 

site  of  this  fort,  displays  at  its  southerly  entrance  a  tablet  erected  in 
1896  which  bears  the  following  inscription  : 

"  This  Tablet  designates  the  site  of  an 
English  Fort  erected  in  1778  by 
Major  R.  B.  Lernoult  as  a  defense 
against  the  Americans.     It  was  subse- 
quently called  Fort  Shelby,  in  honor 
of  Gov.  Isaac  Shelby  of  Kentucky, 
and  was  demolished  in  1826. 
The  evacuation  of  this  Fort  by  the 
British  at  12  o'clock  noon,  July  nth, 
1796,  was  the  closing  act  of  the  War 
of  Independence. 

On  that  day  the  American  Flag  was 

for  the  first  time  raised  over  this 

soil,  all  of  what  was  then  known 

as  the  Western  Territory  becoming 

at  that  time  part  of  the  Federal  Union." 


Detroit  115 

parently  received  the  earliest  announcement  of 
the  declaration  of  war.  Governor  Hull  arrived 
at  Detroit  July  5th,  soon  afterward  crossed  to 
Canada  and  issued  a  proclamation,  but  a  few 


GENERAL  GRANT'S  HOME  IN  DETROIT. 

days  later  returned  without  having  accom- 
plished any  results  of  value.  On  August  1 6th, 
without  any  reasonable  excuse,  and  without 
the  firing  of  a  single  gun,  he  surrendered  his 
entire  force  and  all  of  the  territory  under  his 
control  to  General  Brock.  He  was  tried  and 


1 1 6  Detroit 

found  guilty  of  cowardice,  unofficer-like  con- 
duct and  neglect  of  duty.  In  his  memoirs, 
Governor  Hull,  trying  to  defend  himself, 
seeks  to  make  Secretary  of  War  Eustis  a  fool 
or  a  traitor,  Gen.  H.  A.  Dearborn  a  knave, 
and  Colonel  Cass  a  conspirator.  Original 
letters  and  testimony,  however,  from  President 
Madison,  ex-President  Jefferson,  and  Secretary 
of  State  John  Quincy  Adams  show  that  Gov- 
ernor Hull  was  justly  condemned.  On  Sep- 
tember 29,  1813,  as  the  result  of  Commodore 
Perry's  notable  victory  of  September  loth,  the 
whole  region  was  restored  to  American  control. 

Detroit's  interest  in  several  local  and  sub- 
sequent wars  was  large,  but  the  unimportance 
of  some  and  the  well-known  results  of  others 
make  comment  thereon  unnecessary. 

While  these  varied  historical  events  were 
taking  place,  the  city  was  steadily  gathering  to 
itself  prestige  and  reputation.  Its  houses  now 
excel  in  number  and  beauty,  its  streets,  wide  and 
well  paved,  are  edged  with  the  smoothest  of 
stone  walks  and  lined  with  elms,  maples,  and 
grassy  lawns.  The  distinctive  buildings  of  the 
municipality,  its  court-houses,  schools,  police 
stations,  water-works,  and  engine  houses  are 
remarkable  for  their  excellent  architecture  and 


n8  Detroit 

well-kept  condition.  The  churches,  by  their 
number  and  in  their  construction,  indicate  the 
possession  of  religious  desire  and  aesthetic 
taste.  The  manufacturing  interests  of  De- 
troit are  varied.  I  ts  commercial  representatives 
are  found  in  almost  every  country,  and  "  De- 
troit "  stoves,  drugs,  and  chemicals  are  known 
in  every  clime.  We  have  numerous  parks,  but 
Belle  Isle  is  indeed  the  priceless  jewel  in  the 
crown  of  Detroit :  woods  of  green  and  waters 
of  blue,  art  and  nature,  moving  waves  and 
waving  grass,  stillness  and  activity,  vistas 
and  broad  views,  beautiful  flowers  and  lofty 
trees,  the  white  sails  of  numerous  vessels, 
and  the  swift  motions  of  great  steamers  all 
alike  are  combined  in  the  captivating  beauties 
of  this  favored  place. 

Besides  serving  as  a  charm  to  drive  away 
care,  our  beautiful  river  gives  us  one  of  the 
greatest  ports  in  the  world.  More  tonnage 
passes  annually  through  "  the  Detroit "  than 
in  the  same  time  enters  and  clears  the  com- 
bined ports  of  London  and  Liverpool.  During 
the  season  nearly  four  hundred  vessels  pass 
daily,  bearing  more  grain  and  minerals  than 
traverse  any  other  stream  in  the  world.  The 
city  is  a  central  starting-point  for  reaching  all 


Detroit  119 

northern  summer  resorts,  and  more  steamboat 
passengers  arrive  and  depart  from  our  wharves 
than  from  any  others  on  the  Lakes.  The 
stream  that  attracted  the  earliest  visitors  at- 
tracts later  ones  as  well.  The  river  never  over- 
flows and  therefore  is  never  a  menace,  but 
always  a  joy  and  blessing.  Yachts,  sail-boats, 
barges,  shells,  ferries,  steamers,  and  great 
"  whale-backs  "  fly  and  ply  over  it,  and  in  the 
season  it  is  a  panorama  of  beauty,  gay  with 
music,  streamers,  and  happy  voyageurs. 


MACKINAC 

"THE  HOME  OF  THE  GIANT  FAIRIES" 

BY  SARA  ANDREW  SHAFER 

AT  the  northernmost  point  of  the  meeting 
of  the  waters  of  the  mighty  trio  of  lakes 
which  divide  the  States  of  the  Middle  West 
from  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  lies  an  archi- 
pelago in  size  and  beauty  like  that  of  the 

"Sprinkled  isles, 
Lily  on  lily  that  o'erlace  the  sea, 
And  laugh  their  pride  when  the  light  waves 
whisper  '  Greece.'  " 

An  old  writer  says  that  there  are  two-and- 
thirty  thousand  of  them,  great  and  small, 
clustered  chiefly  where  Huron  leans  her  head 
to  meet  those  of  Michigan  and  Superior,  "as 
if  they  were  discussing  some  great  matter." 
Perhaps  they  are  talking  over  the  old  days  and 
the  things  and  people  they  knew  long  ago. 


122  Mackinac 

Perhaps  they  speak  of  the  morning  when,  ac- 
cording to  an  old  saga,  the  worshippers  of  the 
Rising  Sun  in  February  saw  the  Island  like  a 
great  turtle — Nocchenemockenung — rise  slowly 
out  of  the  water,  to  become  the  home  of  the 
Giant  Fairies  of  the  Michsawgyegan,  or  Lake 
Country,  and  to  be  a  place  of  refuge  for  the 
vanished  peoples,  whose  names  are  as  the 
sound  of  many  waters  for  beauty  and  for  har- 
mony. Perhaps  they  tell  of  the  wild,  free  life 
of  those  roving,  painted  bands  of  fishers,  trap- 
pers, and  hunters  which  make  pictures  of  so 
much  action  and  color  against  the  ever-shifting 
background  of  these  •  seas  and  shores.  Per- 
haps they  tell  of  the  coming  of  the  Black  Robes 
in  the  days  when  the  lilies  of  France  had  no 
fear  of  the  lion  of  England,  and  the  eagle  of 
the  American  Republic  was  as  yet  unthought 
of.  There  are  things  enough  of  which  the 
Lakes  may  speak  as  their  waves  lapse  on  the 
beach  of 

"  This  precious  stone  set  in  a  silver  sea." 

Occupying  as  it  does,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant strategic  points  in  the  new  world,  it  is 
not  strange  that  the  Island  of  Mackinac  should 
have  a  rich  and  varied  history,  and  that  in  its 


OLD  MISSION  CHURCH  (CIRCA),  1823,   MACKINAC  ISLAND. 


I23 


124  Mackinac 

earlier  Indian-French  form  "  Michilimackinac 
was  a  word  familiar  in  the  cabinets  of  European 
monarchs  before  it  was  known  to  people  dwell- 
ing along  the  Atlantic."  The  name  was  given 
not  only  to  pioneer  settlements  on  either  side 
of  the  Straits,  but  also  to  a  vast  province 
which  reached  as  far  south  as  the  Ohio  River 
and  as  far  west  as  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 
The  Straits  are  but  a  dozen  miles  in  width,  and 
the  Island  but  nine  miles  in  circumference,  but 
whether  it  be  frozen  in  the  long  clasp  of 
"  Peboan,  the  Winter,"  when  the  white,  endless 
snows  are  marked  only  by  the  dark  accents  of 
evergreens  on  islet  and  mainland,  over  which 
the  cold  stars  look  down,  or  the  Northern 
Lights  flame  and  fade  ;  whether  it  be  decked 
with  the  unspeakable  splendors  of  its  early 
autumn,  or  rejoices  with  the  sudden  coming  of 
its  tardy  summer,  it  is  a  land  whose  beauty  is 
indescribable,  and  whose  spell  is  supreme. 

The  village  numbers  many  thousand  Hitting 
folk  in  summer,  but  it  has  less  than  eight  hun- 
dred permanent  residents.  It  lies  along  the 
perfect  crescent  of  a  bay  worn  into  the  south- 
eastern end  of  the  Island,  at  the  foot  of  the 
cliffs,  upon  which  the  long  lines  of  the  fort 
stand  sentinel,  and  is  a  curious  conglomeration 


Mackinac  125 

of  huge  caravanserai,  summer  villa,  shop, 
fish-house,  pier,  half-French,  half-Indian  cot- 
tage, and  church.  Old  days  and  new  meet 
over  and  over  again  in  the  little  streets,  where, 
in  the  soft  patois  of  the  habitants,  in  the  names 
they  bear,  and  in  many  of  their  strongly 
marked  faces,  much  of  the  Island's  story  is 
suggested.  St.  Ann's  is  a  true  daughter  of 
the  first  chapels  built  by  the  old  heroes  of  the 
Church.  The  Mission  House  tells  of  the 
earnest  early  efforts  to  teach  the  tenets  and 
virtues  of  Calvinism  to  the  savages,  made  by 
the  reverend  geographer,  Morse,  father  of 
Morse  of  the  electric  telegraph,  and  Mr. 
Ferry,  whose  son,  born  in  the  village,  ably 
represented  Michigan  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States. 

Where  the  fort  garden  now  stands  once 
stood  the  agency,  then  the  centre  of  the  vast 
trade  of  the  fur  companies.  Within  its  walls 
Henry  Schoolcraft  wrote  down  the  precious 
results  of  his  studies  in  Indian  dialect  and 
folk-lore,  from  which,  as  from  a  root,  sprang 
the  perfect  flower  of  our  one  native  epic, 
Hiawatha.  Not  to  have  read  Hiawatha  with 
the  pine-spiced  winds  of  the  north  blowing 
upon  the  page,  with  the  magnificent  prospect 


126  Mackinac 

of  the  Straits  before  one's  eyes,  lifted  while 
a  page  is  turned,  and  with  the  waves  breaking 
into  a  thousand  jewels  against  the  rocks  at 
one's  feet,  is  hardly  to  have  read  Hiawatha 
at  all. 

The  Fort  is  the  successor  of  the  feeble 
early  posts  set  up  by  the  pioneers  of  France. 
The  great  propellers  and  the  swift-winged 
yachts  that  throng  the  summer  waters  are  of 
a  kindred  with  the  birch  canoe,  most  poetic  of 
all  water  craft — own  brother  to  the  violin  by 
reason  of  the  perfect  beauty  of  its  lines, 
having  in  it 

"  All  the  mystery  and  magic  " 

of  the  woodland  and  the  wood  life.  As  of 
old,  the  deep  wild  roses  and  the  frail  hare- 
bells cling  to  the  cliffs  ;  as  of  old,  in  the  gorges 
hushed  into  fragrant  silence  by  pine  and 
larch  and  hemlock,  arbor-vitae  and  juni- 
per, beech,  and  birch,  the  shy,  delicate  flora 
of  the  north  finds  shelter.  As  of  old,  the 
winds  try  their  strength  against  the  splendid 
masonry  of  the  curious  limestone  formations 
for  which  the  place  is  noted,  the  Arch  Rock, 
the  Fairy  Arch,  the  Chimney  Rock,  the  Sugar 
Loaf,  Scott's  Cave,  Skull  Cave,  the  Devil's 


ARCH  ROCK,  MACKINAC  ISLAND. 


127 


128  Mackinac 

Kitchen.  Around  each  of  these  the  legends 
cluster  like  bees  about  a  linden-tree  in  blossom, 
but  how  can  they  be  forgiven  whose  crass 
stupidity  gave  them  these  commonplace  titles 
and  who  have  lost  for  us  their  Indian  names? 

In  the  days  when  New  France  "  had  two 
fountain  heads,  one  in  the  cane  brakes  of 
Louisiana,  and  the  other  in  the  snows  of 
Canada,"  a  charter  was  given  by  Louis  XIII. 
to  the  Hundred  Association  Company,  which 
was  thereby  invested  with  rights  almost  mon- 
archical, together  with  injunctions  to  do  all 
that  was  possible  for  Holy  Church  which  was 
consistent  with  the  keeping  of  a  watchful 
eye  upon  such  earthly  advantages  as  might 
accrue  from  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  and 
the  acquisition  of  new  territory.  It  was  in 
1634,  under  the  governorship  of  Champlain, 
that  Jean  Nicolet,  a  fearless  explorer,  well 
versed  in  woodcraft  and  in  the  speech  of  many 
aboriginal  tribes,  was  the  first  paleface  to  see 
the  white  cliffs  of  Mackinac,  as  he  was  also  the 
first  to  carry  back  to  civilization  tidings  of  a 
great  new  sea,  the  Lac  des  Ilinese,  or  Mich- 
igan, which  he  had  discovered.  That  he  per- 
ished by  the  capsizing  of  his  canoe  in  the  St. 
Lawrence  River  was  a  great  loss  to  the  infant 


Mackinac  129 

colonies  to  whom  his  sixteen  years'  experience 
in  frontier  life  would  have  been  very  valuable. 
The  path  he  opened,  was,  however,  soon  fol- 
lowed by  others.  The  explorers  and  traders, 
Des  Grosselliers,  Radisson,  Perrot,  and  their 
fellows  did  for  the  world  what  the  Jesuits,  the 
Recollets,  and  the  Sulpicians  did  for  the 
Church.  It  is  in  the  Relations  sent  home  by 
the  priests  that  we  learn  what  were  the  trials 
overcome  by  those  dauntless  sons  of  "  the 
sturdy  North."  Perhaps  from  no  country  but 
France,  and  in  no  other  years  than  the  glitter- 
ing, romantic,  covetous,  daring,  devoted  years 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  could  have  come 
adventurers  so  tireless  and  churchmen  so  self- 
less as  these.  To  read  their  simple,  patient 
chronicles  is  to  have  new  belief  in  man,  new 
faith  in  the  Church  Universal,  "  which  is 
the  blessed  company  of  all  faithful  people," 
and  to  clasp  hands  across  years  and  above 
creeds  with  those  courageous  pioneers  and 
with  those  humble  saints. 

The  story  of  Mackinac  is  for  many  years 
the  story  of  the  French  in  Canada.  "  Not  a 
cape  was  turned,"  says  Parkman,  "not  a  river 
was  entered,  but  a  Jesuit  led  the  way."  Every 
year  the  establishment  of  new  posts  pushed 


130  Mackinac 

the  realms  of  the  Unknown  Territory  nearer 
and  nearer  to  the  sunset.  Poor  little  posts 
they  were,  slenderly  garrisoned,  and  feebly 
armed,  but  beside  each  one  rose  a  chapel  and 
a  cross  where  the  "  bloody  salvages  "  might 
learn,  if  they  would,  the  religion  of  the  fathers. 
The  missionaries  made,  perhaps,  but  few  con- 
verts to  their  faith,  but  they  made  many  friends 
for  their  country  by  their  kindly  offices  to  the 
sick,  the  aged,  the  dying,  and  the  infant,  by 
the  gentleness  and  urbanity  of  their  high 
breeding,  and  by  the  perpetual  sacrifice  of 
their  lives  of  love  and  loyalty.  Of  their  hard- 
ships we  can  only  read  between  the  lines  of 
their  brave,  uncomplaining  Relations,  but  what 
litanies  of  pain,  sorrow,  and  disappointment, 
what  Te  Deums  of  hope  and  rejoicing  lie  in 
these  marks,  oft  recurring  on  their  queer  old 
maps  : 

6  marque  des  villages  sauvages 

J   marque  des  etablissements  fran$ ois, 

By  1668  many  missions  were  strung  along  the 
waterways.  The  Island  was  the  centre  of  a 
thriving  trade,  had  thirty  native  villages,  and 
a  palisaded  enclosure  for  defence,  and  a  year 
later  its  shores  were  hallowed  by  the  feet  of 


SUQAR  LOAF  ROCK,  MACKINAC  ISLAND. 


132  Mackinac 

"  The  Guardian  Angel  of  the  Ottawa  Mission," 
Father  Jacques  Marquette. 

Here,  in  what  he  called  "  the  home  of  the 
fishes,"  and  "  the  playground  of  all  the  winds 
of  heaven,"  he  spent  the  hard  winter  of 
1669-70,  going  later  to  the  first  Fort  Michili- 
mackinac,  at  St.  Ignace,  where  he  built  a  log- 
and-bark  chapel,  and  whence  he  wrote  the 
letters  which  reflect  his  pure  spirit,  as  a  clear 
pool  reflects  a  star.  Ever  alert,  ever  anxious, 
"Ad  Major  am  Gloriam  Dei"  to  hear  of  new 
countries  to  be  brought  to  Him,  his  great 
opportunity  came  when  the  tribes  trooped 
past  the  Island  on  their  way  to  the  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  and  the  Great  Congress,  convened  on 
the  1 4th  of  June,  1671,  by  the  hardy  Perrot. 
The  French  wanted  to  control  the  frontier 
trade  ;  the  Indians  wished  a  market  for  their 
furs.  To  both  peoples  pomp  and  ceremony 
were  natural  and  dear,  so  here,  in  all  the 
splendor  of  war-paint  and  wampum,  tomahawk, 
calumet,  feathers,  bows  and  arrows,  and  hand- 
some furs  came  the  braves  of  many  tribes  ;  in 
all  the  gay  accoutrement  of  blanket-surtout, 
scarlet  cap,  fringed  elk-skin  leggins,  rifle,  and 
dagger-decked  sash  came  the  coureurs  des 
bois  and  the  voyageurs ;  in  the  dignity  of  their 


Mackinac  133 

uniforms  came  a  handful  of  soldiers  ;  with  cross 
and  cassock  came  the  priests,  to  gather  under 
a  great  wooden  cross,  to  which  the  arms  of 
France  had  been  nailed,  where,  by  a  proces 
verbal,  the  overlordship  of  the  Great  West 
was  assumed  by  Louis  XIV. 

Among  the  representatives  of  so  many  scat- 
tered savages,  Father  Marquette  doubtless 
made  the  inquiries  about  and  gained  the  know- 
ledge concerning  the  Great  Unknown  River 
which  served  him  in  such  good  stead  when,  on 
the  1 7th  of  May,  1673,  he  started  with  Louis 
Joliet,  five  voyageurs,  and  in  two  canoes,  on 
the  voyage  which  made  the  Mississippi  known 
to  Europe.  Of  the  honor  coming  from  the 
discovery  the  good  father  never  thought,  but 
only  with  joy  of  new  lands  to  which  the  mes- 
sage of  the  Cross  could  be  carried.  It  is  the 
story  of  a  hero,  the  story  of  his  short  life  and 
of  his  triumphant  death,  "alone,  a  Jesuit,  and 
a  Missionary,"  beside  an  obscure  creek  on  the 
Michigan  shore,  on  the  iQth  of  May,  1675,  m 
the  eight-and-thirtieth  year  of  his  age.  De- 
scendants of  his  Ottawas  and  his  Hurons  still 
tell  of  his  "  bright  hair,  like  the  sun,"  and  of 
the  great  funeral  when,  two  years  after  his 
death,  his  body  was  brought  back  to  St. 


134  Mackinac 

Ignace.  Whether  the  dust  now  held  sacred 
was  his  or  no,  is  of  little  moment.  In  the 
Book  of  Life,  above  and  below,  the  name  of 
Jacques  Marquette  has  long  been  written,  and 
like  the  blessing  of  peace  his  spirit  rests  upon 
the  Northland. 

In  1679,  tne  Griffin,  a  little  ship  of  sixty 
tons,  took  Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur  de  la  Salle, 
and  the  garrulous,  mendacious  Recollet  friar, 
Hennepin,  past  the  Island  on  their  way  to  the 
Great  River,  which  they  were  to  explore  to  the 
Gulf,  and  beside  which  the  murdered  body  of 
the  great  Norman  was  to  be  flung.  He  only 
touched  the  Island,  but  the  touch  of  La  Salle 
was  a  royal  accolade. 

In  1688,  La  Honton,  a  soldier  of  unusual 
sagacity,  noted  the  importance  of  the  site,  and 
in  1695  M.  de  la  Motte  Cadillac  says  that  the 
fort,  with  its  garrison  of  two  hundred  sol- 
diers, and  the  village  of  Canadians  and  Indi- 
ans to  the  number  of  six  or  seven  thousand 
souls,  made  it  one  of  the  largest  posts  in  Can- 
ada. Disputes  between  the  commandant  and 
the  Jesuits,  chiefly  about  the  sale  of  liquor  to 
the  Indians,  resulted  in  the  discouragement 
of  the  priests,  who,  in  1705,  burned  their  chapel 
and  their  school,  and  went  back  to  Quebec. 


1 36  Mackinac 

St.  Ignace  was  then  gradually  abandoned  for 
a  second  Michilimackinac  on  the  southern 
peninsula. 

When  the  French  and  English  war  was 
ended  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  George  III. 
became  indeed  sovereign  of  the  soil  of  Canada, 
but  Louis  XV.  was  lord  of  the  hearts  of  too 
many  French,  half-breeds,  and  Indians  to  make 
the  transfer  of  allegiance  easy.  Loves  and 
hates  and  racial  sympathies  are  not  matters 
for  cold  diplomacy,  and  the  people  of  the 
Northwest  waited  longingly  for  a  leader  who 
should  give  them  again  the  light-hearted, 
friendly  rule  of  the  French,  under  which  they 
had  been  far  happier  than  they  found  them- 
selves as  subjects  of  the  stern,  alien  English. 
In  the  person  of  an  Ottawa  chieftain,  the 
most  remarkable  personage  produced  by  the 
Indian  race,  the  leader  was  found.  In 
the  brain  of  Pontiac,  grim,  far-seeing,  fearless, 
heroic,  there  arose  as  a  prophetic  vision  the 
assurance  that  English  encroachments  upon 
the  rights  of  his  people  would  never  cease  so 
long  as  they  held  a  rod  of  ground  coveted  by 
an  English  eye.  To  avert  the  evils  he  fore- 
saw, he  planned  the  capture  of  all  forts  west  of 
Niagara,  the  extermination  of  all  English 


138  Mackinac 

settlers,  and  the  restoration  to  the  Great 
Father  at  Versailles  of  the  lands  he  had 
just  lost.  With  incredible  swiftness  he  formed 
the  vast  conspiracy  whose  story  has  been  told, 
once  for  all,  in  the  living  pages  of  Parkman's 
narrative. 

Whisperings  of  coming  trouble  had  been 
heard  at  Fort  Michilimackinac  by  Major  Eth- 
erington,  the  commandant,  but  none  of  so  seri- 
ous a  nature  as  to  prevent  the  presence  of  the 
soldiery  at  a  great  game  of  baggatiway  which 
was  to  be  played  in  a  field  near  the  fort  by 
rival  companies  of  Sacs  and  Chippewas,  in 
honor  of  the  King's  birthday,  August  4,  1763. 
The  game  is  a  very  intricate  and  brilliant  one, 
requiring  great  agility  and  skill,  and  the  par- 
ticipation of  a  large  number  of  players.  As 
was  most  natural,  the  excitement  of  the  on- 
lookers was  intense,  and  when  an  apparently 
stray  ball  flew  high  over  the  palisades  of  the 
unprotected  fort  (which  had  been  silently 
invaded  by  a  crowd  of  squaws  with  weapons  hid- 
den under  their  blankets)  and  at  least  four  hun- 
dred players  in  hot  pursuit  swarmed  over  the 
stockade,  nothing  was  thought  amiss,  until  the 
cries  appropriate  to  the  game  changed  into 
the  war-whoop,  and  a  massacre  began.  Of  * 


Mark  of  Pouanas  and 
Kausse,  the  same 
nation  but  different 
Chiefs. 


Oka. 


SIGNATURES  OF  THE   CHIPPEWA   CHIEFS  WHO,  IN  1781,  DEEDED  THE 
ISLAND  TO  KING  GEORGE  III. 

FROM   "  MACKINAC,"  BY    JOHN   R.    BAILEY,   M.  D.,   BREVET  LIEUT.-COU   U.  8.  V.,  BY  WHOSE 
KIND  PERMISSION  THEY  ARE  HERE  REPRODUCED. 


139 


i4°  Mackinac 

the  English,  all  were  either  killed  or  made 
captive,  except  Alexander  Henry,  whose  narra- 
tive curdles  the  blood  even  yet. 

This  event  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the 
southern  fort  and  the  establishment  of  one  on 
the  Island.1 

"  It  is  now  certain,"  writes  Schoolcraft  in  1834,  "  that 
the  occupancy  of  Old  Michilimackinack — the  Beekwu- 
tenong  of  the  Indians — was  kept  up  by  the  British  until 
1774  ;  between  that  date  and  1780  the  flag  was  trans- 
ferred .  .  .  the  principal  trade  went  with  it,  the  In- 
dian intercourse  likewise.  Some  residents  lingered  a  few 
years  but  the  place  was  finally  abandoned,  and  the  site 
is  now  covered  with  loose  sand." 

By  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  in  1783,  the  Island 
was  ceded  by  Great  Britain  to  the  United 
States.  Possession  was,  however,  withheld 
on  one  pretext  or  another,  until  i  796. 

When  the  second  war  with  England  began, 
it  was  natural  that  one  of  the  first  points  to  be 
attacked  should  be  the  fort  so  commandingly 
situated.  Far  from  all  base  of  supplies  and 

1  The  deed  for  the  Island,  bought  from  its  Indian  owners  in  1781 
by  George  III.  for  ^5000,  was  long  in  possession  of  Dr.  John  R. 
Bailey,  Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  8.  V.,  and  author  of  a  most 
interesting  monograph  on  Mackinac.  It  is  from  its  pages,  and  by 
his  kind  permission,  that  the  Indian  signatures  to  the  document 
are  here  reproduced. 


Mackinac 


141 


all  possibility  of  rapid  communication,  the  oft- 
repeated  appeals  of  General  Hull  for  an  effec- 
tive garrison  at  this  and  other  important  points 
were  totally  disregarded  in  Washington.  Only 
fifty-seven  soldiers  were  in  residence  in  Mack- 
inac when  the  British  forces,  1021  strong,  landed 


FORT  MACKINAC,  AND  THE  CANNON  CAPTURED  BY  COMMODORE  PERRY. 

before  dawn  on  the  i;th  of  July,  1812,  on  a  point 
nearly  opposite  St.  Ignace.  By  eleven  o'clock 
Captain  Roberts  sent  a  flag  of  truce,  and  a  de- 
mand of  surrender  to  Lieutenant  Porter 
Hanks,  who  had  had  "  no  intimation  "  that  a 
war  between  the  powers  had  been  declared 
until  that  moment.  After  considering  the 


i42  Mackinac 

futility  of  resistance,  and  a  consultation  with 
the  American  traders  in  the  village,  with  the 
valor  which  was  ever  bettered  by  discretion, 
he  capitulated. 

In  August,  1814,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
retake  the  Island.  A  battle  was  fought  near 
the  scene  of  the  British  landing  two  years  be- 
fore, in  which  battle  Major  Holmes  and  twelve 
privates  were  killed,  and  many  men  were 
wounded  or  missing.  The  routed  Americans, 
under  Colonel  Croghan,  withdrew  to  their 
ships.  The  Island  finally  passed  into  the 
keeping  of  the  United  States  in  1815. 

Then  followed  the  great  days  of  the  fur 
companies,  when  the  place  was  astir  with  a 
life  so  gay  and  vivid  that  only  to  hear  of  it  stirs 
the  blood  of  the  untamed  savage  which  centu- 
ries of  the  repressions  of  civilization  have  not 
routed  from  our  hearts.  Hundreds  of  hardy, 
ill-paid  engages,  hundreds  of  happy-go-lucky, 
hard-working  voyageurs  and  coureurs  des  bois 
and  hundreds  of  Indians  crowded  into  the  hun- 
dreds of  tents  set  up  along  the  beach  ;  into  the 
log-houses  of  the  primitive  village,  and  into 
the  huge  barracks  of  the  company,  which 
counted  and  weighed  the  rich  peltries  they  had 
gathered,  paying  them  in  return  the  miserable 


Mackinac 


wages  which  in  dancing,  gambling,  drinking, 
fighting,  feasting  and  sleeping,  were  spent  long 


REV.   ELEAZAR  WILLIAMS. 

REPROD'JiED  FROM   LATIMER'S    '    SCRAP  BOOK  OF  THE  REVOLUTION," 
BY  PERMISSION  OF  A.  C.  MCCLURQ  &  CO. 

before  the  bateaiix  freighted  with  the  poor  ne- 
cessities for  the  fast-coming  winter  were  again 
rowed  out  toward  the  wilderness,  the  brave 


144  Mackinac 

chansons  of  the  oarsmen  growing  fainter  and 
fainter  as  the  boats  passed  steadily  out  of  sight. 

An  incident  but  little  known  connects  the 
Island  with  one  of  the  great  mysteries  of  his- 
tory,— the  fate  of  the  little  son  of  Louis 
XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette.  That  the 
Dauphin  did  not  die  in  the  Temple,  but  had 
been  secretly  conveyed  to  America  and  had 
been  placed  among  the  Indians,  was  believed 
by  persons  whose  opinions  were  entitled  to  re- 
spect ;  but  that  he  might  be  found  in  the  person 
of  the  Rev.  Eleazar  Williams,  a  half-breed 
missionary  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
among  the  tribes  about  Green  Bay,  was  a  sup- 
position stranger  than  any  fiction.  The  story 
is  too  long  to  tell  here,1  but  as  it  touches 
Mackinac  at  a  single  point,  it  must  have  a 
line  in  this  chapter. 

On  the  wharf  of  the  moon-shaped  bay,  one 
bright  day  in  October,  1841,  a  crowd  was 
gathered  to  see  the  Prince  de  Joinville,  son  of 
Louis  Philippe,  then  reigning  in  France,  who 

1  For  an  admirable  statement  of  the  facts  bearing  upon  this  in- 
teresting problem,  the  reader  is  asked  to  turn  to  My  Notebook  of  the 
French  Revolution,  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wormeley  Latimer  (A.  C. 
McClurg  &  Co.).  The  book  upon  which  Mrs.  Latimer  has  chiefly 
based  her  account,  The  Lost  Prince,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hanson,  has 
long  been  out  of  print,  and  is  almost  inaccessible. 


Mackinac  145 

was  on  his  way  to  Green  Bay,  and  who  had 
stopped  off  at  Mackinac  to  visit  some  of  the 
natural  curiosities  of  the  place.  A  salute  had 
been  fired  in  honor  of  the  royal  sailor  with 
true  republican  fervor,  and  while  the  steamer 
which  had  brought  him  waited  his  pleasure, 
the  village  was  en  f£te.  Waiting  on  the  dock, 
and  also  about  to  embark  for  Green  Bay,  was 
the  Rev.  Eleazar  Williams,  who,  before 
the  boat  left  the  bay,  was,  at  the  request  of  the 
Prince,  presented  to  his  Highness.  The 
acquaintance  thus  begun  led  to  disclosures 
which,  if  true,  make  the  identity  of  the  Dau- 
phin and  the  missionary  all  but  certain. 

Wrapped  in  a  legend,  the  Island  of  Mackinac 
comes  into  sight.  With  a  thousand  legends, 
its  old  fields,  its  cliffs,  its  caves,  its  gorges,  its 
wooded  glens,  its  shores,  and  its  far,  dim  dis- 
tances are  haunted.  With  a  thousand  mys- 
teries and  bewilderments  and  witcheries  it 
holds  captive  all  who  come  within  reach  of  its 
magic.  With  a  mystery,  which  too  may  be 
but  a  legend,  our  story  closes,  as  the  light  that 
smites  the  waters  of  the  Straits  into  a  myriad 
of  glittering  flakes  paints  on  the  sunset  sky  the 
old,  old  golden  track  which  the  Indians  loved 
to  call  "the  Path  that  leads  Homeward." 


INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  HOOSIER  CAPITAL 

BY  PERRY  S.  HEATH 

THE  visitor  to  the  Hoosier  capital  familiar 
with  the  capital  of  the  nation  instantly 
observes  a  striking  similarity  between  the  two. 
Well  he  may,  for  Alexander  Ralston,  who 
carried  the  chains  for  Pierre  Charles  L'Enfant, 
and  placed  the  stakes  which  fixed  the  lines 
and  curves  of  the  City  of  Magnificent  Dis- 
tances, was  the  surveyor  of  Indianapolis. 
When,  in  1821,  he  carved  out  of  the  small 
cleared  space  in  the  centre  of  a  great  wilder- 
ness the  plan  just  one  mile  square  for  Indian- 
apolis, his  architectural  abilities  and  ambitions 
had  more  than  a  superficial  justification.  The 
result  was  perhaps  the  handsomest  city  be- 
tween Philadelphia  and  Denver. 

When  Indianapolis  was  platted  on  the  sur- 
veyor's map  it  had  but  800  inhabitants.      By 

147 


148  Indianapolis 

the  year  1840  the  town  had  grown  to  2672 
inhabitants.  There  were  only  48,244  souls  in 
the  city  in  1870.  But  by  1890  the  population 
had  increased  to  105,436,  and  the  census  of 
1900  placed  the  population  at  169,164.  In 
the  latter  decade  Indianapolis  outstripped 
Rochester,  New  York,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis, 
Kansas  City,  Denver,  and  Omaha  in  increase 
of  population.  And  the  area  occupied  by  the 
city  grew  in  three  quarters  of  a  century  from 
one  to  twenty-seven  square  miles. 

Entering  Indianapolis  to-day  upon  any  one 
of  the  seventeen  independent  railroads  oper- 
ated by  steam  locomotives,  or  any  one  of  the 
many  interurban  electric  systems,  the  traveller 
is  entranced,  in  passing  the  wide,  asphalted 
avenues,  by  the  magnificent  view  which  carries 
the  vision  to  the  hub  of  the  city,  where  the 
eye  readily  perceives  the  panorama  of  the 
State  House,  four  or  five  magnificent  hotels, 
some  majestic  club-houses,  and  the  world- 
famed  Soldiers'  Monument  in  the  Governor's 
Circle.  The  city  is  not  one  over  which  dense 
clouds  of  smoke  hover  daily,  marks  unmistak- 
able of  great  manufacturing  interests.  The 
sky  is  usually  clear.  Natural  gas  and  oil  are 
largely  employed  as  fuel  for  the  production  of 


Indianapolis 


149 


steam.  Where  coal  is  used  the  consumers  are 
largely  located  in  the  remote  outskirts.  Dur- 
ing half  the  year  the  foliage  from  the  splendid 
system  of  shade  and  other  trees  along  the 
avenues  and  streets  and  in  the  parks  clothes 
the  city  in  a  verdure  producing  a  pleasing 


OLD  STATE  HOUSE,  INDIANAPOLIS. 

effect  upon  the  vision  and  the  atmosphere.  In 
winter-time  the  well-paved  streets  and  the  uni- 
versal system  of  cement  sidewalks  are  ever 
under  the  enforcement  of  perfect  city  regula- 
tions, clear  of  snow  and  sleet  and  other  impedi- 
ments to  boulevard  driving  and  pedestrianism. 
There  is  about  the  history  of  Indianapolis 


150  Indianapolis 

much  of  quaint  Indian  tradition  and  historical 
attractiveness.  While  almost  every  trace  of 
the  rural,  or  the  virgin  forests  which  were  in 
view  from  any  point  a  few  years  ago,  has  disap- 
peared and  modern  structures  and  improve- 
ments abound,  the  visitor  wherever  he  goes, 
cannot  forget,  that  he  is  in  a  city  which  made 
great  progress  during  the  last  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  On  every  hand  this  fact 
is  illustrated.  It  was  as  late  as  April,  1816, 
that  Congress  authorized  the  construction  of  a 
constitution  for  the  State.  As  recently  as 
three  quarters  of  a  century  ago  the  White 
River,  on  which  Indianapolis  is  situated,  was 
dotted  from  source  to  mouth,  with  the  canoes 
of  savages,  and  lined  along  its  banks,  in  the 
dense  wilderness,  with  Indian  villages.  The 
white  man  made  his  way  in  constant  fear 
through  the  country.  It  is  true  that  Vincen- 
nes  had  been  settled  by  white  people  genera- 
tions before,  but  its  citizens  had  at  this  time 
few  if  any  relations,  social  or  commercial,  with 
any  other  section  of  the  Territory,  and  every- 
where the  red  man  continued  to  be  a  prime 
factor,  holding  and  controlling  the  affairs  of 
the  domain.  While  the  White  and  Wabash 
rivers  in  the  interior  furnished  during  a  part 


152  Indianapolis 

of  the  year  transportation  by  raft,  the  old 
buffalo  trail  from  Vincennes  to  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio,  cleared  by  immigrants,  afforded  the  only 
safe  outlet  or  inlet,  and  was  in  consequence  a 
great  thoroughfare.  The  Whetzels,  known  to 
history  as  the  intrepid  Indian  fighters,  paved 
the  way  through  the  Territory  and  made  it 
possible  for  immigrants  to  find  Indianapolis 
in  its  early  days. 

At  the  time  this  city  was  located  and  titled 
there  was  so  much  of  Indian  lore  in  the  minds 
of  the  legislators,  and  in  fact  so  much  of  the 
red  man  in  the  wilderness  around,  a  constant 
source  of  apprehension,  that  great  difficulty 
was  found  in  securing  a  name  for  the  new 
metropolis.  Tecumseh,  Suwarrow,  Whetzel, 
Wayne,  Delaware,  and  other  names  famil- 
iar to  the  paleface  hunted  by  or  hunting 
the  red  man,  were  suggested.  Finally  Mr. 
Samuel  Merrill,  a  name  significant  in  the 
modern  history  of  Indiana  and  Indianapolis, 
and  prominent  in  the  upbuilding  and  develop- 
ment of  the  best  institutions  of  the  State  and 
city,  proposed  Indiana-polis  as  the  name  for 
the  city  which  is  now  the  pride  of  all  Hoosier 
hearts. 

The  original  city  was  platted  with  streets  just 


Indianapolis 


'53 


one  mile  in  length  from  end  to  end.  The 
avenues,  or  "  diagonals,"  as  they  were  termed 
on  the  original  plat,  radiated  from  the  Circle 
(the  hub)  in  the  centre  and  constituted  that 
beautiful  de- 
sign which 
makes  the  capi- 
tal of  France 
and  the  capital 
of  the  United 
States  so  attrac- 
tive in  appear- 
ance, and  yet  in 
some  respects 
"  a  labyrinth  or 
mesh  to  the  un- 
familiar." Near 
the  radiating 
point  or  Circle 
was  early  estab- 
lished a  mar- 
ket, which  is 
to-day  one  of  the  great  conveniences  to  the  resi- 
dents of  the  city  and  to  those  who  market  their 
products  and  an  attraction  at  most  seasons  of 
the  year  to  visitors. 

It  was  not  until  the  removal  in  November, 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 


154  Indianapolis 

1824,  of  the  archives  of  Indiana  from  Cory- 
don  to  Indianapolis,  that  the  latter  became 
the  actual  capital.  In  1827  the  Legislature 
appropriated  four  thousand  dollars  for  a  Gov- 
ernor's residence  to  be  located  in  the  Circle. 
Its  construction  was  commenced,  but  never 
completed.  The  unfurnished  portion  was 
occupied  at  one  time  as  a  schoolhouse,  until 
finally  the  officers  of  the  Supreme  Court 
made  it  their  headquarters.  After  some  years 
the  crude  building  was  demolished  and  the 
ground  was  converted  into  a  park,  the  present 
location  of  the  Soldiers'  Monument. 

It  was  not  until  a  third  of  the  nineteenth 
century  had  passed,  not  until  near  1840,  that 
Indianapolis  became  more  pretentious  than 
any  other  country  town.  The  public  squares 
were  feeding-grounds  for  the  ox  and  horse 
teams  of  countrymen  who  came  to  market. 
There  were  practically  no  industries,  and 
the  buildings  were  primitive  and  simple.  As 
late  as  1875  the  wags  of  the  stage  and  the 
humorists  of  the  press  amused  themselves 
with  jeers  at  the  Hoosier  capital.  The 
Hoosier  was  a  joke  in  the  East.  He  was 
represented  as  the  typical  raw  character,  greatly 
in  need  of  common  advantages  and  ordinary 


i56  Indianapolis 

enlightenment.  And  the  impression  persisted 
until  some  time  after  three  quarters  of  the 
nineteenth  century  had  passed  that  Indian- 
apolis was  simply  a  congregating-point  for  him 
and  his  kind.  About  1880  the  city  began 
to  take  on  the  appearance  of  a  modern  am- 
bitious metropolis.  As  wealth  increased  the 
people  resorted  in  ever  increasing  numbers  to 
the  capital,  to  enjoy  the  schools  for  their  child- 
ren and  the  best  civilization  for  themselves. 
Gradually  there  have  gathered  there  not  only 
the  prosperous  citizens  of  the  State,  but  many 
who  have  at  home  or  abroad  achieved  renown 
in  letters,  diplomacy,  official  life,  the  army  and 
navy.  Here  have  lived  two  Vice-Presidents  of 
our  country.  One  of  our  Presidents,  the  late 
General  Benjamin  Harrison,  lived  and  died 
here.  Dialect  poets,  local  historians,  and 
novelists  have  spent  their  days  here  and  been 
the  pride  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

In  1831  the  Legislature  made  an  appropri- 
ation of  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  State  House.  The  investment, 
when  completed,  however,  aggregated  about 
sixty  thousand  dollars.  And  the  State  viewed 
the  result  with  satisfaction  and  believed  she  had 
one  of  the  most  attractive  and  majestic  State 


Indianapolis  157 

Houses  in  the  entire  country,  as  indeed  she  had 
after  the  substitution  in  1887,  at  an  expense  of 
$1,936,000,  of  the  present  magnificent  struc- 
ture. 

Indianapolis  has  more  than  one  hundred 
church  buildings.  The  City  Hall,  with  a  seat- 
ing capacity  of  over  five  thousand,  the  gift  of 
Mr.  Daniel  Tomlinson,  was  constructed  at  an 
expense  of  $150,000,  and  is  principally  used 
for  conventions  and  musical  festivals. 

In  1836  the  State  began  an  elaborate  system 
of  internal  improvements.  Railroads,  canals, 
and  turnpikes  were  subsidized  and  encouraged 
in  every  manner  possible.  The  first  railroad  to 
reach  Indianapolis  came  up  in  1847  from  Mad- 
ison, on  the  Ohio  River,  creating  the  usual  sen- 
sation of  the  new  railroad  in  those  days.  As 
long  ago  as  1860  Indianapolis  became  the  rail- 
road centre  of  the  Central  West.  The  diversi- 
fied and  almost  limitless  products  of  the  State, 
of  the  farm  and  the  mine,  and  the  fact  that  In- 
dianapolis is  in  the  direct  pathway  between  the 
East  and  the  West,  afforded  great  attraction  to 
railroad  builders.  The  Union  Railroad  Station, 
until  recently  the  largest  and  best  in  the  United 
States,  is  still  one  of  the  most  commodious, 
comfortable,  and  beautiful  in  the  country. 


158  Indianapolis 

During  the  Civil  War  Indianapolis  was  a 
storm-centre.  The  State  was  not  surpassed 
by  any  other  in  the  percentage  of  soldiers 
sent  out  to  defend  the  Union.  Here  they 
rendezvoused,  and  Camp  Morton  and  other 
points  about  the  city  for  many  years  after 
the  war  bore  signs  of  the  long  presence 
of  the  "  Boys  in  Blue."  Indiana  possessed  a 
great  war  Governor  in  Oliver  P.  Morton,  the 
steadfast  friend  of  Lincoln  and  a  loyal  anti- 
slavist.  For  five  years  in  Indianapolis  the 
shrill  sound  of  the  fife  and  the  roll  of  the 
drum  scarcely  ever  ceased,  day  or  night. 
Those  living  to-day  who  recall  the  activities 
of  the  days  of  the  Civil  War  view  the  Soldiers' 
Monument,  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  the 
many  evidences  of  reverence  for  the  memory 
of  our  Union  soldiers  in  the  beautiful  ceme- 
teries without  surprise.  These  to  them  are 
but  simple  sequences,  natural  results. 

The  straggling  village  of  the  first  days  of 
the  war  soon  became  a  bustling  little  city. 
For  the  first  time  business  blocks  began  to  ap- 
pear along  the  leading  streets  and  avenues. 
The  architecture  in  the  residences  evinced  a 
tendency  toward  the  modern  as  time  pro- 
gressed. The  corduroy  or  cobble  streets  were 


SOLDIERS'  MONUMENT,  INDIANAPOLIS. 
159 


160  Indianapolis 

improved.  The  heavy  artillery  and  ponderous 
wagons  carrying  munitions  of  war  required 
something  more  substantial  in  heavy  weather, 
and  gravel  was  thrown  upon  the  muddy 
thoroughfares.  Level  as  a  plain,  but  beauti- 
fully drained  by  the  slight  inclines  to  the 
White  River,  it  was  possible  to  transform  those 
streams  of  mud  in  winter-time  and  heaps  of 
brown  dust  in  the  dry  summer  into  the  mag- 
nificently paved  or  perfectly  asphalted  streets 
of  the  present  day.  The  city  now  has  150 
miles  of  improved  streets  —  forty  miles  of 
asphalt,  costing  $2, 5 1 4, 5  76  ;  twenty-three  miles 
of  brick,  $902,276;  twelve  miles  of  wooden 
block,  $710,646,  and  seventy-five  miles  of 
gravel  and  boulder,  $777,306.  There  are  107 
miles  of  cement  sidewalks,  which  required  an 
expenditure  of  $552,489,  and  ninety-one  miles 
of  sewers,  at  an  outlay  of  $1,575,878. 

Many  beautiful  residences,  surrounded  by 
well-kept  lawns  and  parks,  may  be  viewed  by 
a  drive  through  the  city  or  by  a  tour  over 
any  of  the  lines  of  the  splendidly  managed  con- 
solidated street-railway  system.  The  city  has 
1207  acres  of  parks,  more  attractive  than  the 
parks  of  Washington.  Riverside  Park,  con- 
taining 953  acres,  the  ground  for  which  was 


162  Indianapolis 

purchased  in  1900,  lies  along  the  White  River. 
Garfield  Park  contains  103  acres;  Brookside 
Park,  eighty-one  acres  ;  and  there  are  various 
smaller  parks  throughout  the  city.  The  muni- 
cipality of  Indianapolis  has  a  large  park  fund, 
created  from  the  sale  of  bonds  and  from  a  tax 
levied  for  park  purposes.  The  financial  con- 
dition of  the  muncipality  is  the  pride  of  the 
citizens.  The  value  of  school  property  is 
$1,993,620.  The  city  library  is  a  handsome 
building,  erected  especially  for  library  purposes, 
and  contains  one  hundred  thousand  volumes. 

In  1887  the  Legislature  appropriated  $200,- 
ooo  for  the  erection  in  Governor's  Circle 
of  the  monument  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors 
of  the  State.  The  corner-stone  was  laid 
August  2,  1889.  The  monument  was  de- 
signed by  Bruno  Schmidt,  of  Berlin,  and  was 
built  of  Indiana  limestone,  at  an  expense  of 
$600,000,  including  the  images  at  the  base. 
The  monument  stands  268  feet  in  height. 

o 

Around  the  approaches  are  eight  magnificent 
candelabra,  valued  at  $40,000.  The  two  cas- 
cades are  the  largest  artificial  waterfalls  in  the 
world,  discharging  each  minute  seven  thousand 
gallons.  The  water  is  derived  from  driven 
wells  beneath  the  monument,  and  after  flowing 


COLUMBIA  CLUB,  INDIANAPOLIS. 


163 


164  Indianapolis 

over  the  cascade  returns  to  the  reservoir,  from 
which  it  is  again  used  through  power  furnished 
by  force  pumps.  In  1900  the  revenue  of  the 
city  was  $1,341,861,  and  the  expenditure  $i,- 
245,000.  The  bonded  debt  was  $2,135,700. 
The  assessed  valuation  of  property  for  1900 
was  $126,672,652.  There  are  five  national 
banks  with  a  combined  capital  of  $2,400,000, 
and  four  trust  companies  with  a  combined 
capital  of  $3,000,000.  The  wholesale  trade  is 
extensive,  confined  mostly  to  drygoods,  boots 
and  shoes,  and  hats,  and  reaches  as  far  south 
as  Texas  and  west  to  Oklahoma. 

Manufacturing  interests  are  large,  consisting 
mainly  of  structural  iron,  mill  machinery,  en- 
gines and  various  kinds  of  bent-wood.  It  is 
contended  that  only  Cincinnati,  Philadelphia, 
and  New  York  surpass  Indianapolis  in  the 
amount  of  many  manufactured  products.  Mill 
machinery  and  structural  iron  is  shipped  in 
large  quantities  to  Europe,  South  America,  and 
other  foreign  lands.  Indianapolis  is  one  of 
the  greatest  horse  markets  in  the  country,  and 
is  surpassed  by  only  three  cities  as  a  market 
for  hogs  and  cattle.  A  belt  railroad  circles 
the  city,  connecting  the  two  immense  stock- 
yards with  all  the  steam  railroads. 


THE  HENDRICKS  MONUMENT. 


I65 


1 66  Indianapolis 

In  May,  1895,  John  Herron  willed  to  the 
Art  Association  $200,000,  with  which  to  erect 
an  art  gallery.  A  site  has  been  purchased, 
and  the  gallery  is  this  year  to  be  built.  The 
Commercial  Club,  composed  of  the  leading 
business  men  of  the  city  and  devoted  to  advanc- 
ing the  interests  of  the  city,  occupies  its  own 
building,  an  elegant  eight-story  structure.  The 
home  for  the  Columbia  Club,  a  Republican 
organization  of  State  importance,  which  has 
just  been  completed  at  an  expense  of  nearly 
$200,000,  is  one  of  the  finest  club  properties 
in  the  entire  West.  The  Marion  and  the  Uni- 
versity clubs  both  own  their  buildings,  and  the 
women,  too,  have  a  club-house.  The  Law 
Building  is  a  handsome  and  valuable  structure 
of  twelve  stories,  occupied  exclusively  by  attor- 
neys. The  corporation  has  a  large  law  library 
for  the  use  of  the  tenants. 

State  institutions  are  the  Insane  Hospital, 
containing  fifteen  hundred  patients  ;  Institute 
for  the  Education  of  the  Blind,  and  a  similar 
institution  for  deaf-mutes.  The  city  has  a  large 
and  handsomely  equipped  hospital,  and  there 
are  two  others  well  appointed.  A  new  hotel 
building  will  this  year  take  the  place  of  the 
Bates  House,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $2,000,000. 


Indianapolis  167 

The  city  is  adorned  with  impressive  statues  of 
her  favorite  sons  :  Morton,  Whitcomb,  William 
Henry  Harrison,  and  George  Rogers  Clark  in 
Monument  Place,  Vice-President  Colfax  in 
University  Park,  and  Vice-President  Hendricks 
in  the  State  House  grounds.  To  these  will  be 
added  in  1901  one  of  General  Henry  W.  Law- 
ton,  a  native  Hoosier,  who  fell  in  battle  in  the 
Philippines,  one  of  General  Pleasant  A.  Hack- 
leman,  the  only  general  officer  from  Indiana 
killed  in  the  Civil  War,  and  one  sometime,  of 
course,  of  the  late  ex-President  Harrison. 

Except  Philadelphia,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  is 
a  city  in  the  Union  where  a  greater  percentage 
of  the  wage-earners  possess  their  own  homes. 
Labor  strikes  or  disturbances  are  here  almost 
unknown,  and  the  conditions  of  peace  and 
prosperity  are  assured  for  many  years  to 
come. 


VINCENNES 


THE  KEY  TO  THE  NORTHWEST 


BY  WILLIAM  HENRY  SMITH 


banks  °f  t^ie  Wabash"  is  one  of 
the  greater  historic  sites  of  the  great 
Northwest.  Of  no  great  importance,  at  least 
commercially,  to-day,  it  was  once  the  seat 
of  the  empire  of  France  in  the  Ohio  Valley, 
and  long  before,  possibly  when  Moses  was 
leading  his  people  out  of  bondage,  the  seat 
of  an  empire  established  by  a  race  we  now 
call  prehistoric.  When  the  Mound  Builders 
came,  whence  they  came,  when  they  went 
away,  or  whither,  will,  in  all  probability  never 
be  determined  ;  but  they  were  surely  here, 
and  from  the  works  they  left  behind,  must 
have  been  here  for  centuries,  and  must  have 
numbered  millions.  The  site  of  their  capital 
is  not  known,  but  if  it  was  not  on  the  spot 
where  Vincennes  now  stands,  certainly  one  of 

169 


1 70  Vincennes 

the  most  populous  cities  of  their  empire  did 
stand  here.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  are 
several  large  mounds,  and  around  them  are 
hundreds  of  smaller  mounds. 

There  must  have  been  something  attractive 
about  this  spot  on  the  Wabash,  for  after  the 
Mound  Builders  deserted  it  and  the  red  men 
came  to  occupy  the  land,  they,  too,  selected  it 
for  the  site  of  one  of  their  principal  towns. 
No  one  knows  what  tribes  have  dwelt  here,  but 
when  it  was  first  visited  by  white  men,  the 
Pi-ank-a-shaws,  one  of  the  leading  tribes  of 
the  great  Miami  Confederacy,  organized  to 
drive  back  eastward  the  Six  Nations,  occupied 
it  as  their  principal  village,  and  called  it  Chip- 
kaw-kay.  As  the  red  men  depended  upon 
the  forests  and  streams  for  both  food  and 
clothing,  this  was  for  them  an  ideal  spot. 
The  finest  forests  in  America  were  here,  filled 
with  buffalo,  bear,  deer,  and  other  game  ;  while 
the  Wabash  furnished  them  fish  and  gave  them 
a  highway  easily  traversed  by  which  to  visit 
friends  in  other  sections  or  to  make  raids  on 
hostile  tribes. 

The  traditions  of  the  Pi-ank-a-shaws  indicate 
that  they  occupied  the  site  for  more  than 
a  century  before  the  coming  of  the  whites. 


Vincennes  171 

Just  when  the  first  white  man  visited  the  spot 
cannot  be  determined.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  La  Salle  passed  up  the  Wabash  about 
1669,  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Ouabache,  and 
marked  it  on  his  maps.1  Finding  an  Indian 
town,  he  probably  stopped  and,  as  was  his  wont, 
made  friends  with  the  tribes.  A  few  years 
later  the  town  was  abandoned  for  a  while, 
owing  to  the  irruptions  of  the  fierce  Iro- 
quois,  who  were  extremely  hostile  to  the 
French,  and  La  Salle  gathered  all  the  other 
Indian  tribes  around  his  fort  on  the  Illinois, 
where  they  remained  until  about  1711.  When 
the  Iroquois  retired  over  the  mountains  the 
other  tribes  returned  to  their  old  homes ;  the 
Pi-ank-a-shaws  to  their  village  on  the  Wabash, 
the  Weas  erecting  their  wigwams  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe,  and  the  Twight- 
wees  locating  at  the  head  of  the  Maumee. 
Afterward  the  Delawares  took  up  their  home 

1  La  Salle,  in  drawing  his  maps,  made  the  Ouabache  to  empty  into 
the  Mississippi  at  Cairo.  According  to  him  the  Oyo  (Ohio)  was 
a  tributary  of  the  Ouabache.  About  1702,  one,  M.  Juchereau,  sent 
to  establish  a  post  for  the  protection  of  the  traders  in  peltries, 
reported  that  he  had  established  a  post  about  forty  leagues  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Ouabache.  Some  writers  have  taken  that  to  mean 
Vincennes,  and  it  is  so  recorded  in  some  of  the  encyclopaedias, 
but  his  post  was  on  what  is  now  called  the  Ohio,  and  not  on  the 
Wabash. 


172  Vincennes 

in  Central  Indiana,  the  Shawnees  in  the  east- 
ern portion,  and  the  Pottawatomies  around  the 
foot  of  Lake  Michigan. 

The  Indians  had  hardly  gotten  back  to 
their  old  hunting-grounds  before  the  coureurs 
des  bois  began  to  make  excursions  into  the 
territory  in  search  of  peltries  and  adventures. 
Some  of  them  penetrated  as  far  as  Chip-kaw- 
kay  and  dwelt  for  some  time  with  the  Pi-ank- 
a-shaws.  Traditions  tell  of  the  visit  of  a 
missionary  or  two,  but  there  is  no  certainty. 

Rumors  grew  of  English  traders  crossing 
the  mountains,  and  as  all  the  territory  from 
the  Alleghanies  to  the  Mississippi  was  claimed 
by  France  because  of  the  explorations  of 
La  Salle,  the  French  authorities  in  Canada 
and  Louisiana  became  alarmed,  and  in  1718 
sent  out  Jean  Baptiste  Bissot,  the  Sieur  de 
Vincent,  from  Canada  to  establish  posts  on 
the  Wabash.  He  reached  Ke-ki-on-ga,  the 
town  of  the  Twight-wees,  at  the  head  of  the 
Maumee,  selected  it  for  one  of  his  posts,  and 
for  another,  Wea  town,  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Tippecanoe. 

At  that  time  not  all  of  the  Ohio  Valley  was 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  Canada,  but  the 
lower  half  of  what  are  now  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 


Vincennes  173 

Illinois  belonged  to  the  province  of  Louisiana. 
For  this  reason  Bissot  made  no  effort  to  estab- 
lish posts  farther  down  the  Wabash  than  Wea 
town,  afterward  known  as  Ouiatenon.  He 
died  at  Ke-ki-on-ga,  in  1719.  The  incursions 
of  the  English  growing  bolder  and  more  fre- 
quent, M.  Broisbriant,  Governor  of  Louisiana, 
about  1725, ordered  Fran9ois  Margane, Sieurde 
Vincent,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  title  of  his 
uncle,  Jean  Baptiste  Bissot,  to  prepare  to  repel 
the  advance  of  the  English  and  drive  them 
back  across  the  mountains.  For  this  purpose 
Margane  established  a  post  at  Chip-kaw-kay, 
and  about  seven  years  later  a  number  of  French- 
Canadian  families  settled  there.  This  was  the 
first  settlement  of  whites  in  Indiana,  although 
trading  posts  had  previously  been  established 
at  the  head  of  the  Maumee  and  at  Ouiatenon. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  Vincennes,  which 
was  called  "the  Post,"  "au  Poste,"  and  "  Old 
Post,"  till  in  1735  it  received  the  present  name. 
Margane  commanded  the  Post  until  1736, 
when  he  joined  an  expedition  against  the  In- 
dians on  the  Mississippi,  and  was  captured  and 
burned  at  the  stake. 

After  his  death  till  the  territory  was  ceded 
in  i  763  to  the  British,  the  Post  was  commanded 


174  Vincennes 

by  Lieutenant  Louis  St.  Ange,  who  had  as- 
sisted in  establishing  it.  The  French  during 
this  period  lived  in  peace  and  friendship  with 
the  Indians,  the  Pi-ank-a-shaws  giving  the  set- 
tlers a  large  tract  of  land  around  the  Post  for 
their  use.  This  land  was  held  in  common  by 
all  the  inhabitants.  In  the  spring  a  certain  por- 
tion was  allotted  to  the  head  of  each  family,  or 
to  any  one  else  willing  to  cultivate  it,  but  when 
the  harvest  was  over  the  fences  were  taken 
down  and  the  land  again  became  public  prop- 
erty. After  the  accession  of  St.  Ange  to  the 
command,  he  made  to  certain  of  the  more  im- 
portant persons  in  the  little  settlement  individ- 
ual grants  of  some  of  this  land,  which  later 
caused  great  confusion. 

Lieutenant  St.  Ange  had  much  influence 
with  the  Indians,  and  as  the  French  made  no 
attempts  to  claim  the  lands  of  the  Indians,  or 
to  destroy  their  hunting-grounds  by  cutting 
down  the  forests,  the  little  settlement  at  Vin- 
cennes lived  without  molestation  or  fear,  until 
about  1751,  when  British  agents  stirred  up 
some  of  the  tribes  to  attempt  the  destruction 
of  the  French  posts  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  St. 
Ange  put  his  post  in  a  secure  state  of  defence, 
and  although  a  few  friendly  Indians  were 


Vincennes 


175 


killed  by  the  hostiles  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, the  Post  itself  was  not  attacked. 

When  Canada  was  ceded  to  the  British  it 
took  with  it  the  posts  at  the  head  of  the  Mau- 


tARLY  FRENCH  SETTLERS  AT  VINCENNES. 

mee  and  Wea  town.  They  were  garrisoned  by 
small  detachments  of  British  troops.  Pontiac's 
conspiracy  to  drive  the  British  out  of  the  coun- 
try included  the  capture  and  destruction  of  all 
the  posts  then  held  by  the  British  west  of  the 


176  Vincennes 

mountains.  The  two  other  posts  in  Indiana 
were  captured,  but  Vincennes,  being  still  under 
the  command  of  St.  Ange,  was  not  attacked. 
Pontiac  endeavored  to  enlist  St.  Ange  in  his 
warfare  against  the  colonists,  but  that  astute 
officer  was  proof  against  all  his  blandishments. 
When  the  treaty  of  1 763  was  made  known,  St. 
Ange  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  Fort 
Chartres,  on  the  Mississippi,  and  left  the  affairs 
of  Vincennes  under  the  control  of  three  of  the 
more  prominent  citizens. 

The  British  reoccupied  Fort  Miamis,  at  the 
head  of  the  Maumee,  and  garrisoned  Fort 
Chartres,  but  did  not  occupy  Vincennes  or  as- 
sume control  over  its  affairs.  General  Gage, 
commander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces  in 
America,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  people 
of  Vincennes  offering  them  the  privilege  of  re- 
maining or  of  removing  to  the  French  or  Span- 
ish possessions,  assuring  them  that  if  they 
remained  they  should  have  the  same  religious 
privileges  as  had  been  granted  to  the  people  of 
Canada.  In  a  later  proclamation  he  informed 
the  inhabitants  that  he  would  not  recognize 
any  claim  they  had  to  the  lands  in  and  around 
the  Post. 

The  priest  of  the  little  parish  and  some  of 


Vincennes  177 

the  leading  citizens  memorialized  the  General, 
showing  that  the  lands  had  been  held  by  them 
for  many  years  under  grants  recognized  by  the 
French  government,  and  that  it  would  be  a 
hardship  now  to  deprive  them  of  the  rights  they 
had  so  long  enjoyed.  On  the  receipt  of  this 
memorial  General  Gage  ordered  that  all  evi- 
dences of  title  be  submitted  to  him  at  Boston. 
This,  for  various  reasons,  could  not  be  done. 
Many  of  the  written  grants  had,  as  was  the  cus- 
tom in  France,  been  left  in  charge  of  a  notary, 
who  had  disappeared  with  them.  In  other 
cases,  the  grants  had  been  verbal,  title  passing 
again,  after  a  French  fashion,  by  the  giving 
of  possession  with  certain  ceremonies.  While 
this  matter  was  in  contest  between  the  citizens 
of  Vincennes  and  General  Gage,  the  first  mut- 
terings  of  the  American  Revolution  brought 
the  General  duties  of  more  pressing  interest, 
and  nothing  further  was  done  in  regard  to 
the  land  grants  at  Vincennes. 

From  1763,  when  St.  Ange  left  for  Fort 
Chartres,  until  1777,  the  people  of  Vincennes 
had  no  civil  government  except  such  as  they 
exercised  themselves.  On  May  19,  1777, 
Lieutenant-Governor  Abbott,  of  Detroit,  ar- 
rived and  formally  took  possession  of  the 


1 78  Vincennes 

place  for  the  King,  establishing  a  government 
and  building  a  small  stockade  fort,  which  he 
named  "  Fort  Sackville."  He  reported  the 
"  Wabache  "  as  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the 
world,  and  spoke  highly  of  the  peaceful  and 
correct  attitude  of  the  citizens  of  Vincennes. 
He  also  took  supervision  of  the  garrisons  at 
Ouiatenon  and  Fort  Miamis,  and  the  work  of 
the  British  agents  in  stirring  up  the  Indians  to 
active  hostilities  against  the  Americans  began. 

The  arrival  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Abbott, 
and  the  hostilities  of  the  Indians  he  encouraged, 
gave  rise  to  the  most  interesting  chapter  in  the 
history  of  Vincennes,  and  one  of  the  most 
dramatic  chapters  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States.  Through  the  influence  of  the  British 
agents,  the  savages  made  a  number  of  forays 
against  the  people  of  Kentucky,  and  brought 
about  an  event  which  added  an  empire  to  the 
United  States. 

In  all  American  history  there  is  no  story 
more  remarkable  than  that  of  George  Rogers 
Clark,  yet  it  is  one  of  the  least  known.  Some 
of  the  encyclopaedias  do  not  even  mention  him, 
while  others  dismiss  with  a  few  lines  a  man 
who  gave  an  empire  to  the  United  States. 
He  lived  a  remarkable  life,  performed  great 


i8o  Vincennes 

services  for  his  country,  and  was  then  permitted 
to  die  in  extreme  poverty  in  his  old  age.  His 
country  neglected  even  to  reimburse  him  for 
the  expenses  incurred  while  winning  for  it  an 
empire. 

In  1777  Clark  was  a  citizen  of  Kentucky. 
The  great  question  to  the  people  of  Kentucky 
was  how  best  to  defend  themselves  against  the 
Indian  forays.  Clark,  through  reports  of  spies 
he  had  sent  out,  became  satisfied  that  the  In- 
dian hostilities  were  fomented  by  the  British  at 
the  various  posts  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River. 
He  went  to  Virginia  and  laid  the  facts  before 
Governor  Patrick  Henry.  He  pointed  out 
that  the  best,  if  not  the  only,  way  to  protect 
the  people  of  Kentucky  was  to  capture  and 
hold  the  posts  at  Kaskaskia,  Vincennes,  and 
Detroit ;  that  with  those  posts  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Americans  they  could  overawe  and 
hold  in  subjection  the  various  Indian  tribes. 
He  offered  in  person  to  lead  an  expedition  for 
their  capture. 

It  was  known  to  Governor  Henry  that  the 
Spaniards  west  of  the  Mississippi  had  been 
secretly  trying,  with  some  encouragement,  to 
induce  the  people  of  Kentucky  to  place  them- 
selves under  Spanish  protection.  When  Clark 


1 82  Vincennes 

approached  him  with  the  suggestion  to  cap- 
ture the  posts  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  Gov- 
ernor Henry  at  first  regarded  the  project  as 
chimerical.  One  day,  after  a  long  argument, 
Clark  left  his  presence  with  the  significant  re- 
mark "  that  a  country  that  was  not  worth 
defending  was  not  worth  possessing."  In- 
terpreting this  remark  to  mean  that  if  Vir- 
ginia would  not  help  to  defend  Kentucky  the 
people  there  would  seek  protection  from  Spain, 
Governor  Henry  recalled  Clark,  and  after  a 
further  conference,  authorized  him  to  recruit 
350  men  for  the  capture  of  the  posts. 

He  gave  him  also  a  small  supply  of  Virginia 
money  and  some  ammunition.  Returning  to 
Kentucky,  Clark  hastily  recruited  a  number  of 
men,  without  divulging  his  purpose  to  them. 
They  rendezvoused  on  an  island  in  the  Ohio 
River,  opposite  the  site  of  Louisville.  There  he 
explained  his  full  -design,  and  all  but  about 
150  refused  to  join  the  expedition.  Undis- 
mayed, Clark  Moated  the  few  men  remaining 
with  him  down  the  river  in  boats  prepared  for 
the  purpose,  and  captured  Kaskaskia  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1778.  Hearing  that  the  British 
had  a  large  force  at  Vincennes,  and  had  gathered 
around  the  fort  a  large  number  of  Indians 


Vincennes  183 

hostile  to  the  Americans,  he  waited  at  Kaskas- 
kia  till  he  could  get  further  information. 

The  cordial  welcome  which  the  French  in- 
habitants of  Kaskaskia  gave  the  Americans 
led  Clark  to  believe  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Vincennes  would  prove  friendly.  French  in 
both  places,  they  were  easily  led  by  their 
priests.  The  priest  at  Kaskaskia,  Father 
Gibault,  a  warm  partisan  of  Clark,  offered  to 
go  to  Vincennes,  sound  the  inhabitants,  and 
learn  the  strength  of  the  British  there.  His 
offer  was  accepted,  and  with  a  single  com- 
panion he  made  the  journey.  He  found  the 
French  inhabitants,  in  the  absence  of  the  com- 
mander of  the  post,  who  had  gone  to  Detroit, 
willing  to  welcome  a  change  of  rulers,  and  in- 
duced them  to  go  in  a  body  to  the  little  church 
and  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  American 
colonies.  After  this  they  took  possession  of 
Fort  Sackville,  and  garrisoned  it  with  some  of 
their  own  number.  Father  Gibault  also  in- 
duced the  Indians  to  bury  the  hatchet  and 
promise  to  live  in  peace  with  the  Americans, 
now  the  friends,  as  he  reminded  them,  of  their 
great  French  father. 

The  news  of  his  success  was  speedily  sent 
to  Clark.  Though  he  had  no  troops  to 


1 84  Vincennes 

send  to  garrison  the  fort,  he  dispatched  Cap- 
tain Leonard  Helm  to  assume  direction  of 
affairs.  This  was  a  fortunate  selection,  for 
Helm  added  to  great  courage,  tact  and  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  British  authori- 
ties at  Detroit  were  informed  of  the  change  in 
the   situation   at    Kaskaskia    and    Vincennes, 
and    at    once  began   preparations   to  recover 
the  lost  ground.     At  this  time  Colonel  Henry 
Hamilton,  of  the  British  army,  was  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor  of    Detroit.      He  assembled    a 
force  of   five  hundred  men — regulars,   militia 
and  Indians — and  started  for  Vincennes.    Cap- 
tain Helm  did  not  learn  of  the  approach  of 
this  force  until,  about  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber,   it   was   within    three   miles  of   the  fort. 
His  garrison  consisted  of  one  American  and  a 
few  inhabitants  of  Vincennes.     Seeing  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  defend  the  fort,  the 
inhabitants  quietly  dispersed  to   their  homes, 
leaving  Helm  and  his  one  American  in  the  fort. 
Though  he  knew  he  could  not  successfuly  de- 
fend the  fort,  Helm  put  on  a  bold  front,  loaded 
his  two  cannon,  and  placed  himself  at  one  and 
his  solitary  soldier  at  the  other.    To  Hamilton's 
demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  post,  Helm 


Vincennes  185 

replied  that  no  man  could  enter  the  post  until 
the  terms  of  surrender  were  made  known. 
Being  promised  the  honors  of  war,  he  sur- 
rendered himself  and  his  one  man,  to  the 
chagrin  of  Hamilton,  on  discovering  the  size  of 
the  garrison. 

The  approach  of  the  British  had  been  so 
sudden  that  Helm  was  not  able  to  dispatch 
a  messenger  to  Clark,  who  in  consequence  re- 
mained for  several  weeks  in  ignorance  of  the 

O 

change  in  the  situation.  The  last  word  he 
had  received  from  Helm  was  a  request  for 
more  supplies.  At  that  time  Francis  Vigo,  a 
merchant  of  St.  Louis,  happened  to  be  in  Kas- 
kaskia.  Loving  the  Americans  and  hating 
the  British,  he  volunteered  to  go  to  Vincennes 
and  make  arrangements  to  furnish  the  garrison 
with  supplies.  Vigo  started  on  his  journey  at 
once,  but  was  captured  by  the  British  just 
before  he  reached  Vincennes,  and  taken  before 
Hamilton.  To  his  demand  for  immediate 
release  on  the  score  that  he  was  a  citizen  of 
St.  Louis,  Hamilton  was  deaf,  until  the  Roman 
Catholic  priest,  heading  a  delegation  of  citi- 
zens, notified  Hamilton  that  they  would  fur- 
nish no  supplies  for  the  garrison  unless  Vigo 
were  released. 


1 86  Vincennes 

Vigo  was  released,  after  promising  against 
his  will  that  "  on  his  way  to  St.  Louis  he  would 
do  no  act  hostile  to  the  British  interest."  He 
at  once  took  a  canoe  and  was  rapidly  paddled 
down  the  Wabash  to  the  Ohio,  then  on  to  St. 
Louis.  Keeping  the  letter  of  his  pledge  he 
did  nothing  hostile  on  his  way  to  St.  Louis, 
but  on  his  arrival  there  he  jumped  from  the 
boat  to  the  land  and  then  back  into  the  boat, 
and  pushed  with  all  speed  for  Kaskaskia,  where 
he  told  Clark  of  the  condition  of  affairs. 

Clark  at  once  saw  the  danger  surrounding 
him.  The  term  of  enlistment  of  most  of  his 
men  was  about  to  expire.  By  making  them 
large  promises  he  induced  about  150  to  ex- 
tend their  enlistment  for  a  term  of  eight 
months,  and  recruited  about  fifty  more  from 
the  inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia.  He  could  get 
no  reinforcements  short  of  Virginia,  even 
if  he  could  obtain  them  there.  If  he  waited 
until  spring  Hamilton  would  be  largely  re- 
inforced, he  would  be  driven  from  Kaskas- 
kia, and  his  whole  design  frustrated.  He 
determined  to  make  a  winter  campaign.  He 
sent  forty-six  of  his  men  in  boats  carrying  pro- 
visions and  ammunition  around  by  water,  and 
with  170  set  off  February  5,  1779,  to  make 


Vincennes 


187 


a  march  of  near  two  hundred  miles.  It  was 
a  fearful  enterprise.  The  land  for  most  of 
the  way  was  level,  and  water,  when  it  rained, 
or  when  the  snow  melted,  lay  in  a  broad  sheet 
over  the  whole 
country.  He  did 
not  know  how 
many  of  his  foes 
were  before  him. 
He  had  no  tents 
to  shelter  his  men 
and  no  way  of 
transporting  bag- 
gage ;  there  were 
a  few  pack  horses 
to  carry  what  pro- 
visions and  am- 
munition the  men 
could  not  carry 
on  their  backs. 

His  men  were  all  hardy  frontiersmen  ;  their 
leader  had  imbued  them  with  his  own  heroic 
spirit ;  they  feared  no  danger.  Before  they 
left  the  little  settlement  of  Kaskaskia,  the 
good  priest  gave  them  a  blessing,  and  all  the 
people  accompanied  them  the  first  three  or 
four  miles  of  their  journey.  Scarcely  had  the 


GENERAL  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 


i88  Vincennes 

farewells  been  said  and  the  march  begun  when 
the  rain  began  to  fall,  and  for  nearly  twenty 
days  there  was  but  a  brief  glimpse  of  sunshine 
now  and  then. 

Only  a  few  miles  had  been  covered  when 
they  struck  a  long  stretch  of  overflowed  land. 
Although  the  water  was  cold,  into  it  they 
plunged,  their  gallant  leader  in  front ;  and 
until  the  evening  of  the  22d  they  saw  no  dry 
land,  except  an  occasional  half-acre  or  so  barely 
peeping  above  the  flood  of  waters  and  fur- 
nishing a  meagre  resting-place.  It  can  hardly 
be  said  they  rested,  for  on  several  occasions 
they  had  to  remain  standing  throughout  the 
night,  or  were  compelled  to  walk  about  to  keep 
from  freezing.  When  they  came  to  a  river 
that  had  overflowed  its  banks  and  was  too 
deep  to  ford,  they  made  canoes  and  rafts  and 
floated  over. 

Always  they  found  the  water  covered  with 
a  thin  coating  of  ice  in  the  morning,  and 
through  the  ice  and  water  they  forced  their 
way.  When  the  water  was  deep  the  sergeant 
carried  the  drummer  boy  on  his  shoulders,  and 
from  that  perch  he  beat  his  charge.  Some- 
times the  water  was  only  knee-deep  ;  some- 
times it  reached  the  middle  and  often  to  the 


Vincennes.  189 

shoulders ;  but  not  one  of  the  men  thought  of 
turning  back.  The  boat  with  provisions  that 
had  been  sent  around  by  water  failed  to  con- 
nect and  to  their  other  discomforts  hunger 
was  added. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2ist  they  came 
within  sound  of  the  morning  gun  at  Fort 
Sackville,  but  it  required  two  more  days  of 
wandering  without  provisions  before  they  could 
cross  the  Wabash  River.  At  last  they  captured 
some  Indians  and  with  them  the  half  of  a  buf- 
falo rump,  which  they  made  into  a  broth.  On 
the  23d  they  arrived  at  the  heights  back  of 
the  town,  and  for  the  first  time  since  their 
departure  had  an  opportunity  to  dry  their 
clothing.  Clark  sent  a  letter  to  the  French 
inhabitants  of  the  town,  telling  them  of  his 
presence,  but  warning  them  not  to  give  any 
information  to  Hamilton.  The  news  caused 
the  greatest  excitement ;  the  French  ran  about 
the  streets  telling  it  with  joy,  for  Hamilton 
had  won  their  hatred.  They  sent  out  pro- 
visions to  the  hungry  Americans,  who  that 
night  marched  into  the  town  and  by  opening 
fire  on  the  fort  gave  the  first  intimation  to 
Hamilton  and  the  garrison  of  the  presence  of 
an  enemy.  The  firing  was  continued  until 


1 90  Vincennes 

about  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning,  when 
a  surrender  was  demanded,  accompanied  by  a 
threat  that  if  the  place  had  to  be  taken  by 
storm  the  officers  would  be  treated  as  mur- 
derers. A  parley  ensued,  followed  after  a  few 
hours  by  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  and  once 
more  the  American  flag  floated  over  Fort 
Sackville,  which  was  then  renamed  Fort  Pat- 
rick Henry. 

Hamilton  and  the  other  officers  were  sent  to 
Williamsburg,  Va.,  where  they  were  held  in 
custody  for  a  year  or  two.  From  papers  found 
in  the  fort,  Clark  learned  that  reinforcements, 
bringing  supplies  and  stores,  were  on  the  way, 
and  at  once  sent  a  part  of  his  little  force  to 
intercept  and  capture  the  reinforcements,  which 
was  promptly  done.1 

Vincennes  was  now  the  most  important 
place  in  the  Illinois  country.  When  Colonel 

1  Clark  began  at  once  to  organize  an  expedition  against  Detroit, 
but  it  never  started.  Francis  Vigo,  who  had  let  Clark  have  pro- 
visions and  money  for  his  expedition  against  Vincennes,  aided  in  like 
manner  in  fitting  out  the  new  expedition,  lending  money  to  the 
amount  of  $8616,  for  which  Clark  gave  him  an  order  on  Virginia. 
The  order  was  never  honored,  and  an  appeal  was  made  to  Congress. 
Finally,  in  1872,  nearly  a  century  after  the  debt  was  contracted,  and 
nearly  thirty-seven  years  after  Vigo  had  died  in  extreme  poverty. 
Congress  referred  the  matter  to  the  Court  of  Claims,  which  four 
years  later  allowed  the  claim,  together  with  more  than  $41,000  in 
interest. 


Vincennes  191 

John  Todd  was  appointed  Lieutenant  for  the 
County  of  Illinois,  he  made  Colonel  Legrace 
his  deputy  for  Vincennes,  who  established  the 
first  court  the  place  ever  had.  Virginia  ceded 
the  territory  to  the  United  States,  and  by  the 
Ordinance  of  1/87  a  civil  government  was  set 
up,  Governor  St.  Clair  sending  Winthrop  Sar- 
gent to  assume  direct  jurisdiction  at  Vincennes. 
The  French  inhabitants  were  finally  permitted 
to  hold  the  lands  to  which  they  could  show 
title,  while  all  the  rest  were  taken  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

Clark  added  an  empire  to  the  domain  of  the 
colonies,  made  possible  the  Louisiana  Pur- 
chase and  the  future  extension  of  the  country 
to  the  Pacific,  and  then  in  his  extreme  old  age 
Virginia  sent  him  only  a  sword  when  he  asked 
for  repayment  of  what  he  had  disbursed  for 
the  country. 

In  1800  Indiana  Territory  was  established 
with  Vincennes  as  its  capital.  The  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Territory  then  included  what  are 
now  the  States  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan, 
and  Wisconsin,  and  a  part  of  Minnesota,  and 
to  this  was  afterward  added  for  a  short  time 
the  whole  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1800,  the  government 


192 


Vincennes 


of  Indiana  Territory  was  formally  organized. 
The  Governor,  William  Henry  Harrison,  was, 
however,  not  present.  General  John  Gibson, 
who  represented  him.  was  one  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary heroes.  He  had  married  a  sister  of 
Logan,  the  celebrated  Mingo  chief,  and  it 

was  to  his  brother 
that  Logan  made  his 
famous  speech. 
On  his  arrival,  Gov- 
ernor Harrison  be- 
gan the  work  of 
trading  the  Indians 
out  of  their  lands. 
He  made  one  treaty 
after  another,  until 
more  than  one  half 
of  the  present  In- 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 

diana,  together  with 

a  good  part  of  Illinois,  was  ceded.  He  erected 
the  first  brick  house  in  all  that  section,  perhaps 
the  first  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  in  its  day  a 
structure  so  magnificent  as  to  be  called  the 
"  Governor's  Palace."  It  is  still  standing,  and 
near  it  the  tree  under  which  the  Governor  held 
his  historic  interview  with  Tecumseh,  when  the 
Indian  chief  planned  the  Governor's  death. 


Vincennes 


In  1813  the  territorial  capital  was  removed 
to  Corydon,  and  the  political  importance  of 
Vincennes  ceased.  Already  a  university  had 
been  established,  Congress  giving  to  it  a  town- 
ship of  land,  and  the  beginning  was  made  for 


ST.  XAVIER'S  CHURCH,    1779. 


what  is  now  one  of  the  most  valuable  libraries 
the  West.     The  first  church  in  the  North- 


in 


west  Territory  was  built  in  Vincennes  about 
1742,  under  the  rectorship  of  Father  Meurin, 
who  had  come  from  France  to  care  for  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  settlers.  In  1793  M. 


194  Vincennes 

Rivet,  a  French  priest,  driven  from  his  native 
country  by  the  terrors  of  the  Revolution,  ar- 
rived at  Vincennes  and  opened  the  first  school 
taught  in  Indiana. 

The  Vincennes  of  to-day  is  a  thriving, 
bustling  city  of  ten  thousand  inhabitants.  It 
has  modern  schools  and  modern  churches, 
modern  ideas  and  modern  progressiveness. 
As  a  city  it  has  had  its  ups  and  downs  since  it 
lost  political  prestige,  but  for  some  years  it  has 
steadily  grown,  until  now  it  is  classed  as  one 
of  the  beautiful  cities  of  the  State.  Sur- 
rounded by  a  magnificent  agricultural  section, 
and  with  many  manufacturing  interests,  it 
threw  off  long  ago  the  old  French  habits  and 
customs  and  took  on  a  progressive  spirit, 
which  promises  a  bright  future. 

Vincennes  has  had  a  glorious  past ;  it  occu- 
pies a  unique  place  among  the  historic  towns 
of  the  country.  Boston  may  have  been  the 
cradle  of  American  independence  ;  Philadel- 
phia the  place  where  that  liberty  was  first  an- 
nounced ;  but  after  all  Boston  gave  to  the 
Union  only  Massachusetts,  and  Philadelphia 
only  Pennsylvania.  Vincennes  gave  us  In- 
diana, Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wiscon- 
sin, the  great  Middle  West.  But  for  the 


Vincennes  195 

genius  and  perseverance  of  George  Rogers 
Clark,  when  independence  came  the  United 
Colonies  would  have  stopped  at  the  Alleghan- 
ies.  The  capture  of  Vincennes  spread  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  colonies  to  the  Mississippi, 
carrying  with  it  American  liberty,  American 
progress,  American  ideas.  More  than  this,  it 
made  possible  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  which 
in  turn  opened  .the  way  to  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  the  securing  of  California  and  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  the  later  acquisition  of 
Hawaii  and  the  Philippines.  The  capture  of 
Vincennes  carried  American  liberty  to  a  do- 
main stretching  from  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  yea  even  to  the  Orient — 
a  domain  which  else  would  still  be  British  or 
Spanish. 

It  was  Indiana,  of  which  Vincennes  was  the 
chief  part,  that  stopped  the  extension  of 
slavery  at  the  Ohio  River,  and  made  all  the 
Northwest  free  territory.  It  was  at  Vincennes 
that  Aaron  Burr  received  his  first  decided 
check  in  his  great  scheme  to  dismember  the 
Union.  It  was  Benjamin  Parke,  a  citizen  of 
Vincennes,  who  placed  in  the  first  constitution 
of  the  State  the  clause  making  it  obligatory  on 
the  Legislature  to  provide  for  the  care  and 


Vincennes 


treatment  of  the  insane,  the  first  provision  of 
the  kind  made  by  any  civilized  government,  a 
provision  which  has  revolutionized  the  treat- 
ment of  the  insane  throughout  the  world.  Such 
is  the  story  of  Vincennes,  no  frontier  town  like 
Albany  or  Pittsburg,  for  when  its  history 
began  Vincennes  was  hundreds  of  miles  out 
in  the  wilderness  beyond  the  frontier  line, 
and  was  still  hundreds  of  miles  beyond  when 
the  great  event  occurred  which  changed  it 
from  a  French  settlement  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Great  Britain  into  the  chief  seat  of  Amer- 
ican power  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 


CHICAGO 

LARGE  IN  EVERY  WAY 

BY  LYMAN  J.  GAGE 

THE  plotting  of  the  site  of  Chicago  was 
characteristic  of  the  practical  sentiment 
that  has  ever  stimulated  the  city.  No  less  a 
personage  than  Washington  established  the 
streets  and  boundaries  of  the  national  capital ; 
religious  romance  presided  at  the  founding  of 
San  Francisco  ;  interesting  legends  cluster 
about  the  origin  of  other  American  communi- 
ties ;  and  in  the  old  world  demigods  were  sup- 
posed to  have  watched  over  the  beginnings  of 
ancient  cities.  Chicago,  though  neither  hero 
nor  fabled  deity  was  present  when  its  founda- 
tions were  laid,  had  a  start  none  the  less  im- 
posing, for  the  genius  of  industry  and  trade 
fixed  its  metes  and  bounds.  And  in  the  growth 
of  the  city  into  perhaps  the  industrial  capital 

197 


198  Chicago 

of  the  continent  there  has  been  presented  a 
supreme  expression  of  that  resourceful  and 
triumphant  ingenuity  which  has  redeemed  the 
American  wilderness.  The  desolation  upon 
which  the  plodding  engineer  planted  his  theo- 
dolite three-score-and-ten  years  ago  is  a  co- 
lossal hive  of  human  activity.  A  marsh  has 
become  a  metropolis. 

The  promoters  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
Canal  were  not  the  first  to  see  the  possibility 
of  water  communication  via  the  present  site 
of  Chicago  between  the  Great  Lakes  and  the 
Mississippi  River. 

In  1673,  Joliet  wrote  to  the  authorities  in 
Canada  that  by  the  cutting  of  a  canal  through 
half  a  league  of  prairie  it  would  be  possible 
for  boats  to  "  pass  from  the  Lake  of  Illinois 
into  the  St.  Louis  River  [the  Illinois  including 
the  Desplaines]  which  empties  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi." Qne  hundred  years  before  our  Re- 
public was  conceived,  a  mathematician,  but  no 
mere  visionnaire,  the  son  of  a  wheelwright  of 
Quebec,  realized  that  the  "  Portage  of  Che- 
cagau "  was  the  meeting-place  of  the  future 
traffic  between  the  chain  of  inland  seas  and 
the  rivers  flowing  toward  the  Mexican  Gulf. 

It    is   plain    that    nature   located    Chicago. 


Chicago  1 99 

The  meeting-point  between  unparalleled  water- 
courses could  not  but  be  a  place  for  the  distri- 
bution of  commodities.  To  the  north,  awaiting 
the  woodman,  were  the  lumber  regions  of 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin  ;  south  and  west  and 
east  stretched  the  prairie,  to  be  developed  into 
farms  ;  in  Illinois  alone,  thirty  thousand  square 
miles  of  coal  fields  were  to  be  uncovered,  while 
Pennsylvania's  inexhaustible  supply  was  to  find 
a  vast  market  at  this  centre  of  lake  shipping ; 
and  the  iron,  red-stone,  and  copper  regions  of 
Lake  Superior  were  to  pile  their  output  on 
Chicago  docks.  The  natural  meeting-place  of 
grain,  lumber,  fuel,  and  iron  would  have  be- 
come a  city  of  commerce  and  manufactures, 
even  if  steam  railroads  and  navigation  had  not 
come  to  assist  in  the  unique  development  of 
this  entrepdt,  by  making  it  the  half-way  house 
for  transcontinental  traffic.  But  though  na- 
ture, as  the  Rev.  Robert  Collyer  has  said, 
"  called  the  lakes,  the  forest,  the  prairies  to- 
gether in  convention,  and  they  decided  that 
on  this  spot  a  great  city  should  be  built," 
Chicago  has  been  singularly  blessed  in  the 
alert  and  enterprising  genius  of  her  citizens. 
Her  business  men  have  worked  with  catholic 
outlook,  knowing  that  what  upbuilt  the  city 


200  Chicago 

in    general   would    augment   their   individual 
projects. 

The  city  has  never  been,  even  in  its  aborigi- 
nal beginnings,  an  abiding-place  for  vision- 
aries. The  Minneways  were  a  picturesque 
tribe.  Their  chiefs  assumed  poetic  names, 
and  the  young  men  cherished  the  traditions 
of  their  people  ;  but  the  tribe  did  not  take  ad- 
vantage of  its  strategic  opportunities.  Che- 
cagau  to  them  was  not  a  coign  of  vantage 
between  great  waters.  At  the  shore  of  a  vast 
lake,  or  the  brink  of  a  broad  river,  their  do- 
minion halted,  for  they  were  not  navigators. 
In  their  dialect,  "  Checagau "  meant  "wild 
onion."  As  if  to  typify  the  force  that  was  to 
dominate  their  region  in  later  centuries,  the 
Checagau  country  fell  to  the  conquering 
"  canoe  men,"  the  adventurous  Pottawatomies, 
the  Chippewas,  the  Sacs,  and  kindred  tribes 
who,  unafraid  to  venture  on  the  water,  turned 
to  trade,  exchanging  furs  and  pelts  with  the 
French  pioneers  for  food,  blankets,  and  orna- 
mental trinkets.  They  became  the  masters 
of  the  lake  country,  and  the  broken  remnant 
of  the  uncommercial  tribe  fled  to  the  Wabash, 
there  to  wail  their  plaintive  songs.1 

1  Among  the  Sacs,   ' '  Checagau  "  was  the  name  of  one  of  their 


Chicago  201 

Meanwhile  the  conquering  tribesmen,  whose 
canoes  paddled  up  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Illinois  to  the  "  Checagau  Portage,"  to  barter 
with  Canadian  voyageurs,  or  glided  thence 
across  the  Lakes,  touching  at  the  outposts  of 
colonizers  and  missionary  friars,  were  pre- 
figuring the  gigantic  activities  of  civilized  men 
who  in  a  later  age  were  to  radiate  from  this 
same  coveted  point  of  distribution.  But  as 
they  had  won  their  Checagau  country  by 
might,  and  established  their  holdings  by  com- 
mercial enterprise,  so  they  resisted  the  coming 
of  their  European  rivals  and  masters.  Al- 
though as  early  as  1795,  by  the  treaty  of 
Greenville,  they  ceded  much  domain  to  our 
country,  including  "  one  piece  of  land  six 
miles  square,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Checagau 
River,"  the  intrigue  of  the  powerful  Tecumseh 
and  his  brother,  the  Prophet,  led  the  tribes  to 
disregard  these  and  subsequent  treaty  stipu- 
lations. So  that  when,  on  the  same  day  that 
saw  the  capitulation  of  Detroit,  Fort  Dearborn 
was  burned  and  its  garrison  massacred, 


valiant  warriors  and  colonizers,  and  meant  "  He  that  stands  by  the 
tree."  Among  the  several  tribes  of  the  Algonquin  group  "  Che- 
kago,"  "  Chicagong,"  etc.,  was  pronounced  in  a  variety  of  ways  and 
had  as  many  meanings. 


202  Chicago 


"  the  last  vestige,"  says  Henry  Adams,  "  of  American 
authority  on  the  western  lakes  disappeared.  Thence- 
forward the  line  of  the  Wabash  and  the  Maumee  be- 
came the  military  boundary  of  the  United  States  in  the 
northwest,  and  the  country  felt  painful  doubt  whether 
even  that  line  could  be  defended." 

For  four  years  the  unburied  bones  of  the 
Fort  Dearborn  victims  lay  where  the  bodies 
had  fallen.  Then  came  peace,  Christian  in- 
terment of  these  pathetic  human  fragments, 
and  a  reorganization  of  the  valuable  fur  trade 
of  the  region.  The  spot  again  became  the 
centre  of  this  industry.  Trading  posts  were 
re-established  on  the  Illinois  River  and  the 
Kankakee  with  the  Pottawatomies  of  the 
prairies  ;  at  Rock  River  with  the  Winneba- 
goes  ;  at  Milwaukee  with  the  Menomonies, 
and  at  Le  Large  with  the  Kickapoos.  Trains 
of  pack  horses  carried  the  furs  and  peltries 
to  Chicago,  and  in  the  spring  vessels  touching 
at  that  port  bore  these  valuable  cargoes  to 
Mackinac,  where  the  American  Fur  Company, 
organized  by  John  Jacob  Astor,  had  estab- 
lished its  headquarters. 

In  1821,  Governor  Lewis  Cass  of  Michigan 
Territory  and  Solomon  Sibley,  with  Henry 
R.  Schoolcraft  as  their  secretary,  representing 


- 


THE  DEARBORN  MONUMENT. 
203 


204  Chicago 

the  United  States,  met  three  thousand  Indian 
braves  at  Chicago.  Topinebee  and  Meeta  were 
spokesmen  for  the  tribes.  In  consideration  of 
five  thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid  annually  for 
five  years,  the  Pottawatomies  and  other  tribes 
ceded  to  this  Government  5,000,000  acres  of 
land  lying  in  Michigan  and  Illinois.  The 
marvellous  real  estate  transactions  subse- 
quently negotiated  in  Chicago,  whereby  citi- 
zens have  multiplied  their  millions,  have  not 
eclipsed  this  profitable  investment  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government  in  1821. 

Although  some  minds  foresaw  a  possible 
future  for  Chicago  in  this  centre  of  a  rich  do- 
main owned  by  the  Republic,  there  was  no  rush 
to  the  spot.  In  1823,  the  officials  of  Fulton 
County,  of  which  the  village  was  then  a  part, 
levied  a  tax  of  five  mills  to  the  dollar  upon 
property  in  the  new  port,  with  the  result  that 
there  was  carried  back  to  the  county  treasury 
the  sum  of  $11.42.  Surely  a  small  begin- 
ning to  lead  to  taxes  in  1900  amounting  to 
$19,086,408.36.  In  1823,  when  the  sum  of 
$11.42  was  the  aggregate  of  taxes  collected 
from  Chicago,  the  total  assessed  value  of  pro- 
perty was  $2284.  In  1900,  the  actual  valuation 
of  Chicago  property  was  fairly  $2,000,000,000. 


Chicago  205 

No  one,  perhaps,  of  the  few  settlers  who 
drifted  to  the  place  dreamed  of  such  mighty 
possibilities,  yet  as  early  as  1831  the  future  of 
the  city  was  a  chosen  topic  of  conversation 
among  those  enthusiastic  pioneers.  One  of 
these,  Dr.  Elijah  D.  Harmon,  true  to  his  baptis- 
mal name,  was  singularly  prophetic.  He  lo- 
cated in  Chicago  in  1831,  acquired  a  section 
of  land,  built  a  sod  fence  about  it,  and  there 
planted  fruit  trees  of  all  descriptions.  Mrs. 
Kinzie  states  that  the  south  path  to  the  set- 
tlement led  by  Dr.  Harmon's  nursery,  and 
that  as  people  passed  he  sought  to  impress 
upon  them  "  the  certain  future  importance  of 
Chicago." 

In  1830,  lots  were  being  sold  at  prices  rang- 
ing from  $10  to  $50.  In  that  year  Thomas 
Hartzell  purchased  eighty  acres  (being  the 
west  half  of  the  northeast  quarter  section)  for 
.$155  an  acre.  Low  as  these  prices  were,  they 
were  an  advance  upon  valuations  a  few  years 
before.  In  the  archives  of  the  Chicago  His- 
torical Society  is  a  letter  written  to  John 
Wentworth  by  Father  St.  Cyr,  recounting  how 
one  Bonhomme  sold  the  north  half  of  Chicago 
to  Pierre  Menard  for  $50,  but  that  the  latter, 
finding  land  cheaper  near  Peoria,  and  more 


206  Chicago 

fertile,  repented  of  his  bargain,  and  hurrying 
back  unloaded  what  he  believed  to  be  a  poor 
investment  upon  John  Kinzie,  who  was  not 
unwilling  to  take  the  property  at  the  same 
figure  at  which  Menard  had  purchased  it.  By 
1835,  values  had  so  increased  that  the  invest- 
ment had  made  Mr.  Kinzie  rich. 

The  belief  which  soon  began  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  minds  of  white  men,  that  the  little 
settlement  was  to  be  a  city  set  in  the  midst  of 
a  new  empire  of  civilization,  had  also  aroused 
the  celebrated  Indian,  Black  Hawk.  He  was 
convinced  that,  unless  the  tribes  could  be 
federated  into  compact  opposition  to  their  con- 
quering enemies,  the  hunting-grounds  of  his 
people  would  speedily  be  converted  into  the 
homes  and  cities  of  the  paleface.  Emulating 
the  career  of  Tecumseh,  Black  Hawk  in  1832 
addressed  a  grand  council,  attended  by  repre- 
sentatives of  fifty  tribes.  "  Let  all  our  tribes 
unite,"  said  he,  "  and  we  shall  have  an  army  of 
warriors  equal  in  numbers  to  the  trees  of  the 
forest."  The  appeal  was  eloquent  and  mov- 
ing, but  Shawbonee,  who  had  been  with  Te- 
cumseh when  that  leader  fell  at  the  battle  of 
the  Thames,  answered  Black  Hawk.  "Your 
army,"  he  cried,  "would  equal  in  number  the 


208  Chicago 

trees  of  the  forest,  and  you  would  encounter 
an  army  of  palefaces  as  numerous  as  the  leaves 
of  those  trees."  The  arguments  of  Shawbonee 
prevailed,  the  native  attempt  at  coalition  was 
defeated,  and  henceforward  the  activities  of 
the  white  races  in  peopling  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  and  building  to  the  northward, 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  its  great 
metropolis,  proceeded  without  any  one  to 
molest  or  make  afraid.  Thus  Shawbonee 
(whose  name  is  variously  spelled),  in  suc- 
cessfully opposing  the  red  men's  far-reaching 
conspiracy,  assisted  materially  in  advancing 
the  interests  of  Chicago.  In  token  of  this 
service,  the  Historical  Society  has  given  his 
portrait  a  place  of  honor,  and  has  preserved 
the  record  of  his  deeds. 

Late  in  July,  1833,  three  years  after  the 
canal  surveyor,  James  Thompson,  had  sur- 
veyed and  mapped  out  the  town  which  was 
to  be,  a  public  meeting  was  held  to  decide 
whether  incorporation  should  be  effected. 
There  were  twelve  votes  in  favor  of  incor- 
poration, and  one  against,  and  the  place 
made  its  start  among  historic  towns.  A 
few  days  later  the  following  election  notice 
was  posted : 


Chicago  209 

"  Publick  notice  is  hereby  given  that  an  election  will 
be  holden  at  the  house  of  Mark  Beaubien,  on  Saturday, 
the  loth  day  of  August,  at  n  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of 
that  day,  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  five  trustees  of  the 
Town  of  Chicago. 

"CHICAGO,  August  5,  1833. 

"  E.  S.  KIMBERLY,  Town  Clerk. 

"  N.  B.     The  poll  will  close  at  one  o'clock." 

On  the  appointed  day,  twenty-eight  electors, 
the  full  number  of  citizens  entitled  to  suffrage 
in  the  new  town,  found  their  way  to  Mark 
Beaubien's  house  and  availed  themselves  of 
the  privilege  of  freemen.  Thirteen  of  them 
announced  their  willingness  to  shoulder  the 
responsibilities  of  office.  The  first  business 
transacted  by  the  trustees  was  the  establish- 
ment of  a  free  ferry  across  the  river  at  Dear- 
born Street ;  the  second,  the  reconstruction  of 
the  "  estray  pen  "  into  a  solid  and  sufficiently 
commodious  log  jail.  These  two  programmes 
—the  extension  of  commercial  facilities  and 
the  stern  suppression  of  lawlessness — have 
ever  since  been  conspicuous  in  the  city's 
history. 

Then  the  town  was  born.  Its  development 
into  a  municipal  Titan  is  one  of  the  marvels 
of  history.  In  1830,  P.  F.  W.  Peck  arrived 
on  a  schooner,  bringing  with  him  a  small  stock 


210  Chicago 

of  goods.  "He  built,"  says  Mr.  Colbert,  "a 
small  log  store  near  the  fort,  which  made  an 
important  addition  to  the  trade  of  Chicago." 
In  the  year  1900,  just  seventy  years  later,  the 
amount  of  wholesale  goods  distributed  from 
this  centre  throughout  the  country  amounted 
to  $741,000,000,  the  volume  of  drygoods  alone 
being  $143,000,000;  groceries,  $99,000,000; 
clothing,  $35,000,000;  shoes,  $58,500,000; 
books  and  paper,  $70,000,000,  and  other  items 
in  proportion  ;  while  the  manufactured  pro- 
ducts sent  forth  aggregated  in  value  $786,- 
000,000,  and  the  total  business  of  the  city 
reached  the  high  figure  of  $1,963,000,000. 
The  year  that  concluded  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury recorded  transfers  of  real  estate  amount- 
ing in  round  numbers  to  $87,000,000,  in 
striking  contrast  to  that  early  transaction 
wherein  Chicago's  first  investor  repented  him 
of  paying  $50  for  the  northern  half  of  the 
city. 

But  the  little  town  was  not  to  achieve  great 
things  without  a  struggle.  Fire,  flood,  panic, 
and  pestilence  had  first  to  be  faced  and  fought. 
The  small  band  in  the  incorporated  town 
started  out  determined  to  develop  the  settle- 
ment into  a  city,  notwithstanding  the  dismal 


2 1 2  Chicago 

prophecies  of  certain  learned  men  that  a  city 
would  never  rise  on  this  unpropitious  swamp. 
Professor  William  H.  Keating,  geologist  and 
historiographer,  had  furnished  the  pioneer 
townsmen  with  the  melancholy  message  : 

"  The  dangers  attending  the  navigation  of  the  lake, 
and  the  scarcity  of  harbors  along  the  shore,  must  ever 
prove  an  obstacle  to  the  increase  of  the  commercial 
importance  of  Chicago.  The  extent  of  the  sand  banks 
which  are  formed  on  the  eastern  and  southern  shore  by 
the  prevailing  north  and  northwesterly  winds  will  like- 
wise prevent  any  important  works  from  being  under- 
taken to  improve  the  port  of  Chicago." 

In  the  light  of  this  prediction  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  in  1900  the  vessels  mooring  or 
weighing  anchor  there  numbered  17,553,  and 
brought  and  carried  away  cargoes  aggregat- 
ing 14,236,190  tons.  Nevertheless,  for  some 
years,  because  of  the  quagmire  condition  of 
streets  and  the  frequent  inundations  from  lake 
and  river,  Chicago  was  termed  derisively  the 
"  amphibious  town."  By  filling  in  the  land, 
the  city  long  since  literally  lifted  itself  out  of 
the  mud,  the  level  of  streets  to-day  being 
eight  feet  above  the  original  marsh.  But 
even  before  the  transformation  of  the  town 
into  a  city,  it  was  plain  that  the  founders  had 


Chicago  2 1 3 

come  to  build  it  into  a  centre  of  trade  and 
population.  Encouraging  progress  was  being 
made  on  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  the 
population  of  the  town  was  increasing,  neigh- 
boring prairies  were  being  tilled,  and  the 
water  carriers  who  drove  their  carts  into  the 
lake,  filled  their  barrels,  and  then  distributed 
water  by  the  bucketful,  were  giving  way  to 
the  Hydraulic  Company.  A  new  era  was  at 
hand,  and  Chicago  on  the  4th  of  March,  1837, 
became  an  organized  municipality. 

The  first  census,  taken  in  July,  1837, 
showed  a  population  in  the  city  of  1800  men, 
845  women,  and  1344  children.  With  a  col- 
ored population  of  77,  the  grand  total  of  in- 
habitants in  this  its  first  year's  existence  as  a 
city  was  4066.  To-day  its  population  is  near- 
ing  the  two-million  mark. 

O.  D.  Wetherell,  ex-city  Comptroller,  re- 
calls a  letter,  written  at  an  early  date  by  a 
citizen,  in  which  the  prediction  was  made  that 
some  day  Chicago  would  become  a  city  of 
10,000  people !  At  the  time,  that  prophecy 
seemed  to  be  more  wildly  optimistic  than 
would  a  prediction  now  that  the  city  might 
ultimately  harbor  the  amazing  total  of  ten 
million  persons. 


214  Chicago 

The  early  promoters  of  Chicago  were  san- 
guine of  a  great  future,  but  none  dreamed  of 
the  amazing  destiny  in  store.  At  a  political 
gathering  in  1838,  addressed  by  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  and  John  T.  Stuart,  his  competing 
candidate  for  Congress,  a  local  orator,  warmed 
by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  occasion,  uttered 
what  was  derisively  referred  to  the  next  day 
as  "  flamboyant  prophecy." 

"  The  child  is  already  born,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  who  shall  live  to  see  Chicago  a  city  of  50,- 
ooo  souls." 

"  Town  lots,  town  lots  ! "  shouted  the  audi- 
ence in  amiable  sarcasm,  not  wishing  the 
visiting  statesman  to  depart  with  the  suspicion 
that  dreams  of  real-estate  speculation  had 
destroyed  the  sanity  of  the  whole  community. 

For  three  years  the  town  had  been  the  cen- 
tre of  a  great  land  craze,  one  of  the  first  real- 
estate  booms  that  have  played  so  important  a 
part  in  the  location  and  development  of  West- 
ern cities.  Dr.  Horace  Chase,  writing  in 
1883  from  Milwaukee,  says  : 

"  Soon  after  the  sale  of  lots  in  Chicago,  in  1833, 1  think, 
Robert  Kinzie,  on  his  way  to  Detroit,  stopped  at  Marsh's 
trading  post  near  Coldvvater.  There  happened  to  be 
several  of  us  present  and  Bob  began  to  boast  about 


2 1 6  Chicago 

Chicago  and  what  a  great  city  it  would  become.  '  Why,' 
said  he,  '  I  bought  some  of  the  best  lots  in  Chicago  for 
twenty  dollars  apiece,  and  those  lots  are  worth  sixty 
dollars  apiece  to-day  ! '  It  seemed  to  us  utterly  absurd 
that  a  lot  should  be  worth  sixty  dollars,  when  two  hun- 
dred dollars  would  buy  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
the  best  quality.  Not  a  single  person  in  the  crowd 
believed  Bob's  yarn." 

As  an  example  of  the  spirit  which  animated 
these  old  pioneers  who  came  in  the  early  days 
to  the  great  city  that  was  to  be,  the  story  of 
one  man  furnishes  an  interesting  illustration. 
The  writer  had  it  from  the  lips  of  the  man 
himself,  who  recently  died  at  the  ripe  age  of 
eighty-two. 

"  I  had  heard  of  the  West,"  he  said,  "  in  the  little  ham- 
let in  New  England  where  I  was  born.  My  ambition  was 
fired,  and  I  determined  at  all  hazards  to  seek  my  fortune 
there.  I  soon  found  myself  in  Buffalo  with  seven  dol- 
lars in  my  pocket,  and  with  this  I  had  to  pay  my 
transportation  to  the  young  city  in  the  West.  After 
considerable  '  higgling  '  with  the  captain  of  a  schooner  I 
arranged  for  deck  passage  at  a  cost  of  three  dollars. 
Part  of  my  money  was  then  expended  to  get  some 
cotton  cloth.  This  I  sewed  up  in  the  shape  of  a  bag, 
and  into  it  I  put  some  shavings  to  soften  the  hard  planks 
of  the  deck  of  the  ship  at  night.  The  balance  of  the 
money  went  for  boiled  ham,  cheese,  and  bread. 

"  I  was  twenty  years  old,  had  been  a  farm  boy,  and 
had  attained  no  special  knowledge  of  any  manual  trade. 


Chicago  2 1 7 

I  arrived  in  Chicago  and  found  it  a  dismal,  swampy 
place,  but  with  every  appearance  of  thrift  and  activity. 
My  money  was  exhausted,  and  work  was  indispensable. 
Going  along  the  one  important  street  or  road  I  found  a 
man  building  a  rather  pretentious  boarding  house.  He 
asked  me  if  I  '  came  off  that  ship  in  the  harbor,'  and 
when  I  answered  '  yes,'  he  inquired  whether  there  were 
any  carpenters  on  board.  I  told  him  there  was  none 
excepting  myself.  He  wanted  to  know  if  I  could  '  lay 
out  work  '  so  that  his  men  could  saw  and  hammer, 
which  was  all  they  could  do.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I 
could  '  lay  out  work '  better  than  anything  else,  and 
engaged  myself  to  him  at  four  dollars  a  day.  Two 
days  satisfied  my  new  boss  that  my  technical  knowledge 
was  deficient,  and  he  paid  me  off.  I  soon  afterwards 
found  work  in  a  harness  shop,  and  by  assiduity  and 
attention  I  acquired  a  knowledge  of  that  business. 
Thus  I  got  my  start." 

This  man  lived  continuously  in  Chicago  for 
more  than  sixty  years.  By  early  and  judicious 
investments  in  real  estate  he  acquired  wealth. 
He  bought  a  lot,  now  centrally  located,  for 
$400,  and  sold  a  part  of  it  thirty  years  later 
for  $62,500.  He  sold  it  too  soon,  however, 
for  that  same  corner  will  bring  at  the  present 
time  not  less  than  $500,000.  At  his  death  he 
left  an  estate  valued  at  between  $5,000,000 
and  $6,000,000. 

Fortunes  were  made  over  night.     In   1835 


218  Chicago 

the  Federal  Government  opened  a  land  office, 
and  this  intensified  the  excitement.  Bound- 
less acres  of  outlying  farmland  changed  hands 
in  Chicago.  Towns  and  cities  that  had  no 
existence  save  on  the  blue  prints  of  im- 
aginative and  wily  promoters  were  plotted, 
and  their  mythical  blocks  sold  to  hasty  and 
credulous  investors.  But  the  panic  of  1837 
brought  both  legitimate  and  illicit  real-estate 
traffic  to  a  close  with  a  crash.  The  dishonest 
and  the  defrauded  went  down  in  a  common 
ruin.  By  1838  the  sheriff  was  the  only  real- 
estate  agent  who  could  dispose  of  property, 
and  at  these  forced  sales  the  returns  were 
meager.  Panic  paralyzing  business,  a  mys- 
terious disease  like  Asiatic  cholera  stopping 
progress  on  the  canal,  and  a  drought  destroy- 
ing crops,  impoverishing  streams,  and  spread- 
ing devastating  fever  in  the  city,  was  the 
calamitous  record  of  1838. 

Chicago  as  a  city  began  with  $1993  in  its 
treasury.  The  need  for  municipal  improve- 
ment was  imperative.  Where  to  get  money 
for  sanitary  drainage,  for  the  paving  of  a  few 
streets,  and  the  purchase  of  two  fire  engines, 
was  a  problem.  The  Common  Council  ap- 
pointed a  finance  committee  with  power  to  act. 


STATUE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

BY   ST.    GAUDENS. 
2IQ 


220  Chicago 

Peter  Bolles  was  made  chairman.  It  was 
finally  decided  to  borrow  $25,000  from  the 
State  Bank  of  Illinois,  pledging  the  city  to  re- 
deem the  obligation  in  five  years.  In  due 
time  the  committee  submitted  as  its  report 
the  following  letter  : 

"  STATE  BANK  OF  ILLINOIS, 

"  SPRINGFIELD,  May  31,  1837. 
"  PETER  BOLLES,  ESQ., 
"  Dear  Sir : 

"  Your  letter  of  the  i8th,  addressed  to  the  president 
of  this  bank  and  proposing  on  behalf  of  the  city  of 
Chicago  a  loan  from  this  bank  of  the  sum  of  $25,000, 
has  been  laid  before  the  directors  of  the  bank,  and,  I  re- 
gret to  have  to  state,  declined. 

"  I  am  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  o'bt  serv't, 
"N.  H.  RIDGELY,  Cashier." 

In  1900  the  city  which  sixty-three  years  be- 
fore could  not  borrow  $25,000,  could  boast  of 
bank  clearances  amounting  to  $6,795,876,000. 

The  poverty  and  disasters  of  early  days 
seemed  only  to  nerve  the  city  to  renewed 
determination  and  prepare  her  to  meet  with 
stoic  faith  the  appalling  calamities  of  later 
years.  In  this  resume  it  is  only  possible  to 
catalogue  the  misfortunes  that  visited  her. 


Chicago  221 

Floods  swept  away  her  shipping,  fire  destroyed 
her  accumulating  industries,  raging  epidemics 
reduced  her  population, — cholera  alone  in  1854 
causing  1424  deaths, — and  financial  panic  again 
and  again  returned  to  manacle  activities.  Many 
times  in  Chicago's  history  citizens  could  well 
exclaim  :  "  One  woe  upon  another's  heels  doth 
tread,  so  fast  they  follow  ! " 

Unconquerable  in  the  presence  of  these  re- 
current visitations,  the  city  pressed  forward  to 
her  place  as  the  metropolis  of  the  Mississippi 
empire.  At  an  early  day  "prairie  schooners," 
pioneers  of  the  great  freight  trains  to  come, 
laden  with  grain  from  the  fertile  areas  round 
about  began  to  line  the  prairie  roads  leading 
to  Chicago.  In  1839,  two  Years  after  the  city 
was  begun,  a  crude  grain  elevator  was  con- 
structed. The  farmers,  too  poor  to  furnish 
sacks,  brought  their  grain  in  sheets,  blankets, 
and  pieces  of  canvas.  It  was  hoisted  by  hand 
with  block  and  tackle  to  the  elevator,  and  in 
the  year  mentioned  2900  bushels  of  wheat, 
consigned  to  Black  Rock,  New  York,  were 
dumped  loose  into  the  hold  of  the  brig  Osceola. 
From  this  primitive  beginning  has  grown  a 
mighty  volume  of  trade  in  grain.  In  1900  the 
wheat,  corn,  oats,  rye,  and  barley  shipped  from 


222  Chicago 

Chicago  amounted  to  232,267,109  bushels, 
while  the  receipts  aggregated  307,723,135 
bushels. 

It  was  not  until  1843  tnat  t^e  Common 
Council  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  place 
was  sufficiently  advanced  as  a  city  to  warrant 
the  enactment  of  an  ordinance  declaring  that 
hogs  should  no  longer  be  permitted  to  run  at 
large  in  the  streets.  In  1900,  far  from  being 
unwelcome,  over  8,000,000  hogs,  safely  penned 
in  cars,  arrived  in  the  city  and  were  sent  to 
the  slaughter. 

In  writing  of  Chicago  it  is  customary  to 
deal  in  superlatives,  and  this  is  necessary  in 
the  nature  of  things.  Its  Union  Stock  Yards 
cover  400  acres,  nearly  twice  the  area  of  the 
original  town.  Twenty  miles  of  streets  thread 
this  meat-packing  colony,  which  pays  wages 
amounting  to  nearly  $9,000,000  a  year.  In 
1900  there  were  shipped  to  Chicago  277,205 
carloads  of  hogs,  cattle,  sheep,  etc.  Its  trade 
in  grain  leads  every  city  in  the  world,  while  its 
general  mercantile  traffic  is  surpassed  by  few. 

The  first  railroad  at  that  time  was  the 
Galena  and  Chicago  Union,  which  was  char- 
tered January  16,  1836.  Galena  at  that  time 
was  believed  to  be  destined  far  to  outrival  her 


Chicago  223 

neighbor,  and  therefore  demanded  and  secured 
the  place  of  honor  in  the  title  of  the  road. 
To-day  thirty-nine  distinct  railroads  enter  Chi- 
cago, more  than  half  the  railway  systems  of 
America  make  that  city  their  objective  point, 
and  the  aggregate  distance  travelled  by  freight 
and  passenger  trains  daily  entering  the  metrop- 
olis is  over  80,000  miles.  In  the  thunder  of  this 
traffic  the  clamor  of  rivalry  long  since  died 
away.  The  British  critic,  Mr.  Archer,  remarked 
that  he  was  unable  to  detect  the  slightest  evi- 
dence of  competition  with  Chicago  even  in  a 
"  Pisgah  view  from  the  top  of  the  Auditorium." 
The  employment  of  large  adjectives  in  the 
recital  of  the  city's  history  is  not  without 
warrant.  "  The  trouble  with  you  people  in 
Chicago,"  remarked  a  visitor,  "  is  that  you  ex- 
aggerate too  much."  "  We  have  to,"  retorted 
a  citizen,  proudly,  "  in  fact  we  have  to  lie  to 
tell  the  truth."  Even  when  we  speak  of  the 
fire  of  1871,  we  must  call  it  the  "great  Chicago 
fire,"  for  never  before  perhaps  in  the  history  of 
the  world  were  so  many  of  the  piled-up  monu- 
ments of  man's  hands  consumed  so  rapidly. 
Such  awful  moments,  happily,  seldom  come  in 
the  history  of  communities.  It  was  as  if  the 
fires  of  Dante's  Inferno  had  been  permitted 


224  Chicago 

for  a  night  and  day  to  devastate  a  great  city 
of  this  planet.  One  thousand  four  hundred 
and  seventy  acres  of  buildings  were  utterly 
consumed.  The  entire  business  portion  of  the 
city  vanished  in  smoke  and  flame.  One  hun- 
dred thousand  persons  were  left  homeless  and 
in  many  cases  penniless.  Seventeen  thousand 
four  hundred  and  fifty  buildings  were  de- 
stroyed, the  total  valuation  of  the  loss  by  fire 
being  $186,000,000. 

In  the  presence  of  a  catastrophe,  so  vast  that 
the  imagination  reeled  as  the  eye  wandered 
over  the  mighty  paths  where  the  cyclones  of 
fire  had  swept,  social  inequalities  and  race 
prejudices  were  ignored.  All  right-minded 
men  stood  together  in  a  common  bond  of 
fellowship.  Doubtless  much  of  the  present 
spirit  of  amalgamation  of  the  people  of  the 
city  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  calamity  which 
thirty  years  ago  brought  the  representatives 
of  those  divers  races  elbow  to  elbow  in  the 
common  cause  of  rebuilding  their  homes  and 
reconstructing  their  lines  of  industry.  The 
riots  at  the  Haymarket  did  not  indicate  bad 
blood  between  the  races  of  the  city,  but  merely 
an  incidental  if  not  accidental  social  unrest 
not  uncommon  in  all  our  greater  cities. 


Chicago 


225 


The  city  staggered,  but  did  not  fall,  under 
the  woful  wreck  the  great  fire  wrought. 
Through  a  grim  schooling  of  disaster  in  the 


RUINS  OF  THE  GREAT  FIRE,  CHICAGO. 

past  the  city  had  developed  a  force  of  char- 
acter that  fire  could  not  consume.  "  Nothing," 
exclaimed  the  great  French  Cardinal  and 
Premier  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  he 


226  Chicago 

was  temporarily  overthrown,  "  nothing  re- 
mains but  the  indomitable  spirit  of  Riche- 
lieu." Chicago  had  similar  faith  in  her  own 
inherent  power.  There  were  some  broken 
spirits  who,  gazing  on  the  melancholy  ruin, 
caught  no  glimpse  of  the  magnificent  city  that 
was  to  rise,  as  if  by  command  of  a  magician's 
wand,  upon  the  smoking  desolation.  But  the 
majority  did  not  permit  the  calamity  to  crush. 
The  faithful  were  exhorted  to  rebuild  the  city. 
It  was  predicted  then  that  Chicago  would  live, 
and  live  to  be  so  mighty  and  so  vast  that  the 
great  fire  would  be  but  an  incident  in  its  his- 
tory. The  city  was  to  live  because  beyond  it 
were  the  giant  forces,  the  teeming  millions, 
the  imperial  area  of  the  mighty  West,  which, 
having  made  Chicago  the  gateway  to  the 
East,  would  recreate  it  under  the  same  natural 
necessities. 

The  city's  optimistic  faith  and  determina- 
tion enlisted  the  sympathy  of  the  world,  and 
$5,000,000  in  relief  contributions  poured  in 
and  thousands  of  telegrams  offering  credit  to 
merchants  supplemented  this  hearty  and  timely 
exhibition  of  Good  Samaritanism.  The  deeds 
of  valor  displayed  by  firemen  and  citizens  in 
fighting  an  unequal  combat  with  the  fire  were 


Chicago  227 

equalled  only  by  the  heroism  which  appeared 
in  the  rebuilding  of  the  city.  The  first  struct- 
ure to  rise  over  the  ruins  was  a  board  shanty, 
twelve  by  sixteen  feet  in  dimensions.  It  was 
on  Washington  Street,  between  Dearborn  and 
Clark,  near  the  site  of  a  former  flourishing 
block,  where  W.  D.  Kerfoot  had  conducted  a 
large  business  in  real  estate.  The  tiny  struc- 
ture was  built  hastily  on  the  morning  of  Oc- 
tober loth,  while  the  surrounding  ashes  and 
heaps  of  twisted  iron  were  so  hot  that  the 
little  building  had  to  be  set  in  the  middle  of 
the  street.  The  comical  cabin  bore  the  legend, 
"  Kerfoot's  Block.  Everything  gone  but  wife, 
children,  and  energy."  Small  as  the  shanty 
was,  it  was  an  inspiration.  It  marked  the  be- 
ginning of  a  city  now  so  vast  that  the  munici- 
pality existing  before  the  fire  seems  but  a 
shadow.  Through  the  city  run  paved  streets 
whose  aggregate  length  would  reach  from 
Chicago  to  New  York,  and  start  the  traveller 
some  distance  on  his  way  to  Boston.  More 
than  100,000  street  lights,  kept  "  trimmed  and 
burning"  by  the  municipality  at  an  annual 
cost  of  over  $1,000,000,  twinkle  in  the  city  by 
night. 

Over  a  quarter  of  a  billion   of  gallons   of 


228  Chicago 

water  are  consumed  daily  by  a  city  now  pro- 
tected by  an  efficient  fire  department  against 
a  repetition  of  the  disaster  of  1871.  Nearly 
1500  miles  of  sewers  preserve  the  sanitation, 
while  the  superb  ingenuity  of  engineers  has 
changed  the  courses  and  reversed  the  currents 
of  rivers,  and  with  connecting  canals  turned 
the  city's  sewage  toward  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  ambition  of  this  characteristically  Amer- 
ican city  is  to  excel  in  everything.  When 
she  undertook  to  hold  a  World's  Fair,  she  de- 
termined to  eclipse  any  previous  exposition, 
and  to  secure  a  phenomenal  attendance.  When 
she  held  a  Parliament  of  Religions  she  ar- 
ranged that  the  faiths  of  every  clime  should 
be  represented  by  their  most  learned  and  pious 
men,  and  that  the  teachings  there  set  forth 
should  constitute  a  memorable  contribution  to 
the  best  thought  of  the  world.  It  has  been 
said  of  Chicago  that  when  she  decides  to  be 
the  home  of  the  greatest  poet  among  mankind, 
she  will  go  out  and  get  him,  or,  better  still, 
produce  him. 

Cities  affecting  a  more  advanced  culture 
sniff  at  the  stock-yard  atmosphere  which  they 
pretend  to  believe  permeates  the  literary  life 
of  Chicago,  and  Eugene  Field,  in  playful 


Chicago  229 

mood,  accepting  the  jibes  of  distant  critics, 
printed  as  the  frontispiece  of  his  Culture  s 
Garland  a  wreath  of  sausage  links  ;  but  William 
D.  Howells  has  acknowledged  that  out  of 
Chicago  is  coming  a  literary  virility  destined 
to  leave  classic  record  in  the  annals  of  letters. 
Field  himself  occupies  an  honored  place  in  the 
American  Pantheon,  and  his  "  Little  Boy 
Blue,"  though  dead,  forever  sings  his  way  to 
our  firesides. 

The  city  takes  high  rank  as  a  centre  for 
advanced  education.  In  addition  to  technical 
schools  like  the  Armour  Institute,  it  has  two 
famous  Universities ;  the  Chicago,  and  the 
Northwestern.  The  Chicago  University  be- 
gan its  career  ten  years  ago.  The  old  de- 
nominational University  of  the  same  name 
having  been  sold  at  auction  under  foreclosure, 
John  D.  Rockefeller  decided  to  reorganize  it 
and  found  a  great  institution  of  learning,  and  to 
that  end  pledged  a  portion  of  his  fortune  and 
secured  as  President,  Dr.  William  R.  Harper, 
of  Yale.  The  University  opened  in  1892 
with  702  students.  To-day  it  has  nearly 
4000.  It  began  with  no  less  than  135  in- 
structors ;  it  now  has  205.  The  University 
made  its  start  with  grounds,  buildings,  and 


230  Chicago 

equipments  valued  at  $1,600,000,  and  invested 
funds  amounting  to  $1,500,000.  To-day  its 
productive  funds  aggregate  over  $15,000,000. 
Women  have  been  prominent  among  the 
University's  donors,  and  in  all  the  depart- 
ments women  students  enjoy  equal  status 
with  men.  A  student  may  enter  at  the  be- 
ginning of  any  quarter  and  receive  his  degree 
at  the  end  of  any  term.  The  colleges  con- 
tinue throughout  the  year.  Recently  the 
Chicago  Institute,  founded  by  Mrs.  Emmons 
Elaine  for  training  school  teachers,  was  ab- 
sorbed by  the  University.  In  fact,  Dr.  Harper 
has  succeeded  in  merging  so  many  professional 
schools  that  he  has  been  amiably  accused  of 
attempting  to  form  an  educational  trust.  The 
Northwestern  University,  located  partly  in 
the  city  and  partly  in  Evanston,  a  suburb,  was 
founded  in  1851.  It  has  296  instructors  and 
over  3000  students.  Its  productive  funds 
amount  to  over  $3,000,000.  Although  con- 
ducted under  denominational  auspices,  its 
charter  provides  that  no  particular  religious 
faith  shall  be  required  of  students.  It  has  a 
campus  of  45  acres  on  the  Lake  Michigan 
shore.  The  University  includes  a  college  of 
Liberal  Arts,  and  schools  of  medicine,  law, 


232  Chicago 

pharmacy,  dentistry,  music,  and  theology. 
Many  of  the  departments  are  coeducational. 

The  public  schools  of  Chicago  are  crowded 
with  three  quarters  of  a  million  children  of 
parents  for  few  of  whom  "  Plato  and  the 
swing  of  Pleiades  and  the  tall  reaches  of  the 
peaks  of  song  "  had  a  meaning.  And  these 
children  of  every  kindred  and  tongue  are  not 
herded  into  classes  and  indifferently  taught. 
Modern  science  assists  them  from  the  start 
with  anthropometric  examinations,  and  scienti- 
fic methods  are  in  use  in  every  school.  There 
could  be  no  more  hopeful  "  sign  and  portent " 
of  the  city's  future  than  is  furnished  by  its 
public  schools. 

Voluntarily,  by  popular  vote  of  the  people, 
civil  service  was  established  in  all  branches  of 
the  city  administration,  and  the  principle  laid 
down  that  industrious  merit  rather  than  po- 
litical influence  should  fill  the  thousands  of 
positions  in  the  school  department  and  city 
branches  in  general,  a  graphic  illustration  that 
the  spoils  system  is  not  a  Chicago  ideal.  Be- 
nevolent institutions  thrive  under  the  muni- 
ficent endowment  of  its  men  of  wealth.  Seers 
like  Professor  David  Swing  have  preached 
the  Gospel  to  an  eager  people,  thousands 


Chicago  233 

on  Sunday  being  turned  away,  unable  to 
press  to  the  pews  through  the  multitude  of 
churchgoers.  All  these  phenomena  present 
the  interesting  psychological  truth  that  with 
Chicago's  liberty  and  cosmopolitan  make-up 
has  been  developed  a  reassuring  force  "mak- 
ing for  righteousness."  The  city  is  not  yet 
prepared  for  canonization,  but  in  many  ways  it 
is,  in  its  largeness  of  life  and  tolerance,  an  ex- 
ample to  the  cities  of  the  world.  She  is  still 
apt,  perhaps,  in  speaking,  for  example,  of  her 
art  galleries  to  dwell  overmuch  upon  the  cost 
of  the  buildings  and  paintings  and  the  number 
of  acres. 

The  unprejudiced  critic  or  historian  knows 
that  not  all  Chicago  is  pork  and  pig-iron, 
though  why  these  industries  are  not  as  honor- 
able as  poetry  and  prose,  perhaps  they  who 
sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful  will  explain. 
Booker  T.  Washington  well  says  that  a  people 
cannot  be  truly  great  until  they  recognize  that 
it  is  as  dignified  to  till  the  soil  as  it  is  to 
pen  an  epic,  and  in  the  same  line  of  thought 
it  might  be  said  that  a  people  who  "  live 
laborious  days  "  packing  meat  and  handling 
lumber,  particularly  by  the  thousand  carloads, 
are  not  necessarily  belated  travellers  on  the 


234  Chicago 

highway  that  leads  to  national  integrity  and 
renown. 

In  wealth,  in  population,  in  the  high  charac- 
ter and  eager  attendance  in  her  great  schools, 
in  libraries,  art,  and  architecture,  as  evidenced 
by  institutes,  buildings,  and  academies  of  de- 
sign, in  her  letters,  as  displayed  by  the  liter- 
ary output,  in  her  spiritual  conquests,  as  shown 
in  the  teachings  of  her  poets  and  preachers, 
and  even  in  the  periodical  reforms  that  purify 
the  political  atmosphere,  Chicago's  future  will 
undoubtedly  be,  like  her  past,  phenomenal. 


MADISON 

THE  CITY  OF  THE  FOUR  LAKES 

BY  REUBEN  G.  THWAITES 

IN  1836,  that  portion  of  Michigan  Territory 
which  lay  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  was 
erected  into  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin.  Within 
the  borders  of  the  nascent  commonwealth  there 
lived  at  that  time  about  twelve  thousand  whites 
and  nine  thousand  Indians.  Many  of  the  sites 
of  future  cities  of  Wisconsin  were  already 
occupied  by  agricultural  settlers,  isolated  or  in 
tiny  groups. 

Green  Bay,  a  straggling  French-Canadian 
settlement,  had  come  down  from  the  seven- 
teenth century,  maintaining  a  sickly  existence 
upon  the  fur  trade  and  the  coasting  traffic  of 
the  upper  Great  Lakes ;  Forts  Winnebago 
(at  Portage)  and  Crawford  (at  Prairie  du 
Chien)  were  surrounded  by  meagre  hamlets, 
chiefly  of  French  Creoles  ;  the  lead-mining 

235 


236  Madison 

region  in  the  southwest,  although  sparsely 
settled,  contained  the  bulk  of  the  white  popu- 
lation, with  Mineral  Point  as  its  centre  —  a 
village  having  at  the  time  an  apparently 
brighter  prospect  than  the  new  settlement  at 
the  mouth  of  Milwaukee  River  ;  there  were  also 
a  few  notches  carved,  at  wide  intervals,  from 
the  gloomy  forest  bordering  the  western  shore 
of  Lake  Michigan.  Outside  of  the  settlements 
just  enumerated,  Wisconsin  was  practically  un- 
inhabited by  whites.  Here  and  there  was  to 
be  found  an  Indian  trader,  the  Yankee  suc- 
cessor of  the  coureur  de  bois  of  the  old  French 
regime,  or  some  exceptionally  adventurous 
farmer ;  but  their  far-separated  cabins  only 
emphasized  the  density  of  the  wilderness, 
through  which  roamed  untrammelled  the  shift- 
less, gipsy-like  aborigines,  — the  comparatively 
harmless  Chippewas,  Menomonies,  Pottawato- 
mies  and  Winnebagoes. 

On  the  4th  of  July  the  territorial  officers 
of  Wisconsin  qualified  at  Mineral  Point,  with 
Henry  Dodge,  a  Black  Hawk  War  hero,  as 
Governor.  In  October  following,  the  first 
Legislature  assembled  within  a  two-story  bat- 
tlement-fronted house  in  the  little  lead-region 
hamlet  of  Belmont.  The  highway  which  it 


238  Madison 

faced  bristled  with  stumps,  while  miners'  shafts 
and  prospectors'  holes  thickly  dimpled  the 
shanty  neighborhood.  A  month  was  spent  in 
selecting  a  capital  for  the  infant  Territory. 
There  were  seventeen  applicants.  Some  of 
them  were  actual  settlements,  like  Green  Bay, 
Fond  du  Lac,  Milwaukee,  Racine,  Portage, 
Belrnont,  Mineral  Point,  and  Platteville  ;  but 
others  were  "paper  towns,"  existing  only  on 
maps  made  by  real-estate  speculators.  Of  such 
shadowy  substance  was  Madison,  the  victor. 

James  Duane  Doty,  who  had  been  United 
States  Circuit  Judge  for  the  country  west  of 
Lake  Michigan,  had  formed  a  town-site  part- 
nership with  Stevens  T.  Mason,  then  Governor 
of  Michigan  Territory.  These  gentlemen  pre- 
empted several  tracts  of  government  land  at 
presumably  desirable  spots  in  the  wilderness. 
Doty  advanced  the  respective  claims  of  these 
tracts,  giving  them  maps  and  attractive  names. 
His  favorite  was  an  undulating  isthmus  be- 
tween Lakes  Monona  and  Mendota,1  in  the 

1  The  Indian  names  now  given  to  the  lakes  of  this  region  are 
modern  appellations  ;  originally  they  were  numbered  First,  Sec- 
ond, Third,  and  Fourth  as  they  progressed  towards  the  source  — 
the  order  in  which  they  were  encountered  by  the  federal  surveyors 
in  ascending  the  Catfish,  a  branch  of  Rock  River,  and  the  outlet 
of  the  lakes.  Their  present  names,  adopted  in  1856,  are  Keg- 
onsa,  Waubesa,  Monona,  and  Mendota,  respectively. 


Madison  239 

heart  of  Southern  Wisconsin,  midway  between 
Lake  Michigan  and  the  Mississippi  River. 
This  claimant  he  named  "  Madison,"  after  the 
third  President  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  freely  alleged  at  the  time  that  Doty 
presented  choice  lots  in  Madison  to  his  legis- 
lative friends.  However  this  may  be,  the 
ostensible  arguments  produced  were  :  that  the 
chief  centres  of  settlement  in  the  northeast 
(Green  Bay),  the  southeast  (Milwaukee),  and 
the  southwest  (the  lead  region)  were  so  widely 
separated  and  had  such  divergent  interests  that 
to  select  one  would  alienate  the  others  and 
make  it  impossible  to  harmoniously  conduct 
the  territorial  government  ;  again,  that  to 
build  up  one  corner  of  the  Territory  at  the 
expense  of  the  others  would  unequally  dis- 
tribute the  population  ;  it  was  also  urged  that 
the  unsettled  central  portion  of  the  Territory 
needed  the  incentive  to  growth  which  the 
capital  would  give  it ;  and  lastly,  Doty,  the 
ohly  man  in  Belmont  that  winter  who  seems 
to  have  known  Madison,  declared  the  site  to 
be  the  most  beautful  spot  in  the  Wisconsin 
forest.  And  thus  Madison  won. 

Beyond  the  understanding  that  the  centre 
of  the  Capitol  Park  was  to  be  the  common 


240  Madison 

corner  of  four  sections  of  land  which  met  near 
the  middle  of  the  isthmus,  there  had  as  yet 
been  no  thought  of  how  this  projected  town  in 
the  woods  should  be  laid  out.  A  French  half- 
breed,  Olivier  Armel,  who  had  a  temporary 
trading  shanty  on  the  tract,  half  brush  and  half 
canvas,  was  the  only  man  whom  the  surveyor 
found  when  he  arrived  in  a  blinding  snow- 
storm in  February  (1837)  to  set  the  stakes  in 
this  virgin  wilderness  for  the  future  State  House 
of  Wisconsin.  The  streets  of  the  town  were 
laid  out,  so  far  as  possible,  upon  the  lines  of 
the  national  capital  :  wide  avenues  radiating 
from  the  Capitol  Park  upon  the  points  of  the 
compass  were  bisected  by  other  highways 
paralleling  the  shores  of  the  two  principal 
lakes.  For  names  of  the  thoroughfares,  the 
patriotic  surveyor  had  recourse  to  the  list  of 
signatures  to  the  federal  Constitution,  probably 
the  only  instance  of  a  city's  streets  being  ex- 
clusively named  from  this  venerable  body  of 
lawgivers. 

The  first  dwelling  in  Madison  was  a  log 
house  built  in  April  by  one  Eben  Peck,  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  mechanics  who  were  ex- 
pected out  from  Milwaukee  to  construct  the 
State  House.  It  was  June  loth  before  the  build- 


Madison 


241 


ing  commissioner  and  his  thirty-six  workmen 
put  in  an  appearance,  after  a  toilsome  overland 
journey  of  ten  days  through  rain  and  mud, 


THE  FIRST  EXECUTIVE  RESIDENCE  (STILL  STANDING)  IN  USE  BY 
GOVERNOR  DOTY. 

with  no  roads,  and  unbridged  rivers  which  had 
either  to  be  forded  or  swam.  On  the  4th 
of  July  the  corner-stone  was  laid  "with  appro- 
priate toasts  and  speeches  "  by  a  small  knot  of 
territorial  officials. 


242  Madison 

It  was  January,  1839,  before  the  territorial 
Legislature  could  be  accommodated  at  Madi- 
son ;  and  even  then  the  situation  brought  little 
comfort.  Says  a  pioneer  of  those  days : 
"  With  the  session  came  crowds  of  people. 
The  public  houses  were  literally  crammed — 
shakedowns  were  looked  upon  as  a  luxury,  and 
lucky  was  the  guest  whose  fortune  it  was  to 
rest  his  weary  limbs  on  a  straw  or  hay  mat- 
tress." 

The  little  village  was  charmingly  situated  in 
the  primeval  forest.  One  of  Madison's  early 
teachers  thus  wrote  of  the  hamlet  of  his  young 
manhood  : 

"  Those  who  only  know  of  Madison  now,  have  but  a 
feeble  conception  of  its  wonderful  and  fascinating  beauty 
at  the  beginning.  In  1839  it  had  the  look  of  a  well-kept 
lawn,  shaded  by  fine  white-oak  and  burr-oak  trees,  with 
a  fragrant  fringe  of  red  cedar  all  about  the  lake  shores. 
There  was  then  no  underbrush  and  thicket  such  as 
sprung  up  soon,  when  the  semi-annual  fires  ceased  to  do 
the  duty  of  the  rake  and  mower  ;  but  the  eye  had  a 
stretch  quite  uninterrupted,  except  as  the  surface  rose 
in  beautiful  green  knolls  on  either  lake.  The  lakes  then 
lay  in  natural  silver  beauty,  prettily  framed  in  pebbly 
beach.  For  simple,  quiet  beauty,  Madison  in  1 839  was 
unequalled  by  anything  I  remember." 

Despite   its  natural  attractiveness,   and   its 


Madison  243 

presumably  favorable  location,  Madison  was  a 
plant  of  slow  growth.  In  the  summer  of  1838 
the  census  revealed  the  presence  here  of  only 
sixty-two  people,  and  it  is  recorded  that  there 
were  at  that  time  "  not  more  than  a  dozen 
houses,  built  and  in  process  of  erection,  count- 
ing every  cabin  and  shanty  within  three  miles 
of  the  Capitol,"  while  Indian  wigwams  were 
frequently  set  up  within  sight  of  the  doors. 
Four  years  later  there  were  but  1 72  people, 
and  in  1846  but  632.  By  the  close  of  1850, 
however,  the  population  had,  largely  as  the 
result  of  a  mild  "  boom  "  in  that  year,  grown 
to  1672.  Five  years  later  Horace  Greeley 
and  Bayard  Taylor  paid  the  place  a  visit,  and 
in  letters  to  the  New  York  Tribune  highly 
extolled  its  beauties.  As  a  result  there  was 
an  almost  immediate  increase  of  population 
and  a  considerable  advance  in  the  price  of  real 
estate ;  so  that  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War  there  were  7000  Madisonians. 

Notwithstanding  the  general  prevalence  of 
financial  stringency,  Madison  prospered  during 
the  war.  The  State's  troops  were  largely 
mobilized  here,  and  constantly  enlivened  the 
streets  ;  a  great  deal  of  money  was  necessarily 
spent  by  the  State  and  nation  for  supplies  and 


244 


Madison 


salaries,  as  well  as  by  the  soldiers  themselves, 
so  that  throughout  it  all  the  town  grew  sub- 
stantially. In  1 8 70  there  were  10,000  citizens, 
but  the  next  decade  only  slightly  advanced 
this  census.  About  1882,  however,  a  variety 


PROFILE  ROCK  ON  LAKE  MENDOTA. 


of  causes  led  to  the  commencement  of  a 
stronger  growth — chiefly  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  State  University,  the  expansion  of 
the  State's  administrative  affairs,  the  bettering 
of  railroad  facilities,  and  an  enlargement  of 
local  manufacturing  interests.  During  the 


Madison  245 

past  eighteen  years  there  has  been  a  steady 
gain,  with  every  indication  of  permanency ; 
the  census  of  1900  revealed  the  presence  at 
the  Wisconsin  capital  of  20,000  residents, 
while  an  additional  5000  dwell  in  closely  abut- 
ting suburbs. 

Frequent  attempts  to  remove  the  capital  to 
Milwaukee  were  long  a  potent  factor  in  re- 
tarding the  development  of  Madison.  In  1870 
the  effort  was  nearly  successful.  The  fact, 
however,  that  the  State  had  by  this  time  in- 
vested large  sums  of  money  in  public  buildings 
in  and  around  Madison,  particularly  in  the 
State  University, — which  institution  must,  by 
the  terms  of  the  constitution,  be  situated  "  at 
or  near  the  seat  of  State  government," — has  of 
late  years  cooled  the  ardor  of  advocates  of 
removal,  so  that  no  fear  of  renewed  agitation 
is  now  entertained. 

In  the  early  annals  of  this  peaceful  little  city 
in  the  undulating  oak  grove  between  Monona 
and  Mendota, — surrounded  on  every  hand  by 
far-stretching  lakes  and  marshes,  and  thus  in  a 
measure  isolated  from  her  rural  neighbors, — 
the  historian  finds  little  of  stirring  interest ; 
and  that  little  almost  always  the  reflex  of  the 
Legislature,  which  annually  until  1882,  when 


246  Madison 

the  sessions  were  made  biennial,  came  and 
went  with  much  bustle  and  sometimes  brawl. 
The  legislative  sessions  were,  in  ante-bellum 
days,  the  events  of  the  year,  and  attracted 
prominent  men  from  all  quarters  of  Wiscon- 
sin. The  crude  hotels  were  filled  each  winter 
with  legislators,  lobbyists  and  visiting  politi- 
cians. The  humors  of  the  time  were  often  un- 
couth. There  was  a  deal  of  horse-play,  hard 
drinking,  and  profanity,  and  occasionally  a  per- 
sonal encounter  during  the  heat  of  discussion  : 
as  in  1842,  when  Charles  C.  P.  Arndt,  of  Brown, 
was  killed  on  the  floor  of  the  council  chamber  by 
his  fellow-member,  James  R.  Vineyard,  of  Grant, 
an  event  to  which  Dickens  alluded  in  his 
American  Notes,  and  which  gained  for  Wiscon- 
sin an  unenviable  notoriety  the  country  over. 
But  an  undercurrent  of  good  nature  was  gen- 
erally observable,  and  strong  attachments  were 
more  frequently  noticeable  than  feuds. 

Dancing  and  miscellaneous  merry-making 
were  the  order  of  the  times,  and  society  at  the 
capital  was,  from  the  first,  thought  to  be  fash- 
ionable. Even  when  the  Legislature  was  not  in 
session,  Madison  long  remained  the  social  as 
well  as  the  political  centre  of  Wisconsin,  and 
overland  travellers  between  the  outlying  settle- 


248  Madison 

ments  on  the  shores  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Lake  Michigan  or  Green  Bay  were  wont  to 
tarry  here  upon  their  way.  Several  of  them 
have  left  us,  in  journals  and  in  letters,  pleasing 
descriptions  of  their  reception  by  the  good- 
natured  inhabitants,  and  the  impressions  made 
on  them  by  the  natural  attractions  of  this 
beauty-spot. 

In  1856,  Madison  was  the  scene  of  political 
excitement  of  a  serious  character.  William 
Barstow  (Democrat)  claimed  to  have  been  re- 
elected  Governor  over  Coles  Bashford  (Repub- 
lican), by  157  majority.  The  Democrats 
controlled  the  State  board  of  canvassers,  and 
the  Republicans  claimed  that  this  board  had 
tampered  with  the  returns.  Upon  January 
27th  both  Barstow  and  Bashford  took  the  oath 
of  office,  but  the  former  and  his  friends  con- 
tinued to  hold  the  State  House.  The  State 
Supreme  Court  was  called  upon  by  Bashford, 
in  a  quo  warranto  suit,  to  oust  the  incumbent 
and  give  the  office  of  Governor  to  the  relator. 
Thus  commenced  the  most  celebrated  case  ever 
tried  by  this  bench.  This  was  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  United  States  that  a  State 
court  had  been  called  upon  to  decide  as  to  the 
right  of  a  Governor  to  hold  his  seat.  Its  juris- 


Madison  249 

diction  was  questioned  by  Barstow's  attorneys. 
The  contest  waged  fiercely  for  some  weeks, 
with  eminent  counsel  on  both  sides,  the  court 
at  last  holding  that  it  had  jurisdiction.  The 
court  then  proceeded  with  its  inquiry,  and 
March  24th  declared  that  Bashford  had  received 
a  majority  of  1009.  A  few  days  before  this 
Barstow  had  resigned,  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor McArthur  was  holding  the  office  by  virtue 
of  the  constitution.  McArthur  was  defiant, 
and  announced  his  determination  to  hold  the 
post  at  all  hazards.  But  the  court  promptly 
ruled  that  Barstow's  title  being  worthless,  Mc- 
Arthur could  not,  of  course,  succeed  to  it. 

Throughout  this  long  contest,  it  may  well 
be  imagined  that  popular  excitement  in  and 
around  Madison  ran  high.  The  respective 
bands  of  partisans  were  armed  and  drilling,  in 
anticipation  of  a  desperate  encounter.  It 
would  have  taken  small  provocation  to  ignite 
this  tinder-box,  but  the  management  on  both 
sides  was  judicious  ;  and  although  the  op- 
posing forces  had  frequent  quarrels,  and  made 
numerous  and  vigorous  threats  of  violence, 
no  blows  were  struck.  Upon  the  day  after 
the  court's  decision  Bashford  and  a  body- 
guard advanced  through  corridors  crowded 


250  Madison 

with  his  followers,  to  McArthur's  office,  and, 
showing  his  writ,  quietly  announced  that  he 
would  henceforth  take  charge  of  State  affairs. 
McArthur  hesitated,  but  a  glance  at  the  threat- 
ening crowd  induced  him  to  retire  hurriedly 
through  the  door.  The  friends  of  Bashford 
cheered  in  triumph,  and  then  poured  into  the 
office  to  congratulate  the  new  Governor. 

As  has  been  previously  stated,  the  corner- 
stone of  the  old  territorial  State  House  was 
laid  July  4,  1837.  The  building  cost  about 
$60,000.  An  old  engraving  of  the  structure, 
which  we  herewith  reproduce,  shows  that  it 
was  of  the  then  prevalent  Americanized-Greek 
style  of  which  there  are  still  remaining  a  few 
examples,  chiefly  in  the  Southern  States  ;  con- 
temporary accounts  agree  that  it  was  rather 
superior  in  character  to  most  of  the  Western 
capitols  of  sixty  years  ago.  In  1857,  the  Legis- 
lature authorized  the  enlargement  of  the  cap- 
itol.  This  "  enlargement  "  was  but  nominal ; 
the  plans  developed  into  a  new  building  on  the 
site  of  the  old,  to  cost  somewhat  over  half  a 
million  dollars.  Lack  of  funds  because  of  the 
Civil  War  caused  the  work  to  proceed  slowly, 
so  that  it  was  1870  before  the  dome  of  the  new 
State  House  was  completed.  In  1882,  two 


252  Madison 

new  transverse  wings  were  provided  for.  Thus 
the  total  cost  of  the  present  capitol  and  the 
development  of  the  surrounding  park  has  been 
about  $900,000.  The  building  is,  however,  now 
sadly  behind  the  times  in  respect  of  light,  ven- 
tilation and  sanitary  conveniences,  and  there 
is  some  thought  of  a  new  State  House  which 
shall  be  more  nearly  worthy  of  a  rich  and  fast- 
growing  commonwealth  of  over  two  millions  of 
people. 

The  University  of  Wisconsin  was  incor- 
porated under  an  act  of  Legislature  approved 
the  26th  day  of  July,  1848 ;  but  it  was 
the  1 6th  of  January,  1850,  before  the  first 
chancellor  was  inaugurated,  and  the  5th  of 
February  before  the  doors  were  opened  for 
the  reception  of  pupils.  During  the  first 
twenty  years  of  its  existence,  the  institution 
was  beset  with  vicissitudes,  and  obliged  to 
battle  against  popular  indifference  and  even 
opposition.  The  congressional  land  grants 
which  were  designed  to  create  a  fund  for  its 
endowment  were  recklessly  disposed  of  by  the 
legislatures  of  the  '50*5,  avowedly  to  encourage 
speedy  settlement  of  the  State,  under  the  plea 
that  when  the  commonwealth  became  well 
populated  it  would  be  rich  enough  to  support 


254 


Madison 


the  University  by  taxation  ;  it  was  also  main- 
tained that  pioneers  had  little  need  for  or 
patience  with  higher  education.  Gradually, 
the  University  gained  recognition  as  the  logical 

head  of  the  edu- 
cational system 
of  the  State ; 
and  at  last,  after 
a  half-century  of 
growth,  it  has 
developed  from 
a  rustic  academy 
of  twenty  stu- 
dents into  an 
institution  of 
national  repu- 
tation, with  a 
talented  faculty 
giving  instruc- 
tion to  nearly  3000  students,  assembled  from 
many  States  and  countries. 

The  University  is  admirably  situated,  chiefly 
upon  two  hills  lying  a  mile  to  the  west  of  the 
State  House  and  commanding  wide  views  of 
the  surrounding  country.  The  grounds  com- 
prise about  350  acres  of  hill  and  plain,  the 
western  half  of  which  is  occupied  by  the  build- 


PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  FRANCIS  ALLEN. 


•  Madison  255 

ings  and  experimental  farm  of  the  College  of 
Agriculture.  Mendota,  the  largest  and  most 
beautiful  of  the  chain  of  lakes,  lies  directly  to 
the  north,  its  attractive  shores  often  rising  into 
steep  bluffs,  surmounted  by  summer  cottages, 
or  swelling  into  distant  hills  besprinkled  with 
prosperous  farmsteads,  while  the  towers  and 
chimneys  of  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane 
fret  the  sky-line  beyond  the  farthest  bay.  A 
broad  straight  avenue  leads  directly  eastward 
to  the  ridge  crowned  by  the  white  dome  of 
the  State  House  ;  while  to  the  south  the  view 
ordinarily  ends  with  the  silvery  expanse  of 
Lake  Monona,  glistening  through  the  trees, 
but  when  the  foliage  has  thinned,  the  southern 
horizon  is  sufficiently  extended,  both  from 
town  and  university  vantage-points,  to  com- 
prise the  far-off  waters  of  Lake  Waubesa. 
The  outlook  from  University  Hill,  over-top- 
ping the  tree-embowered  town,  which  spreads 
gracefully,  with  up-thrust  tower  and  dome  and 
steeple,  over  Monona  Ridge,  is,  particularly 
upon  a  moonlit  night  in  summer,  one  of  the 
most  charming  in  America ;  while  from  Ob- 
servatory Hill,  just  westward,  one  obtains  a 
widely  extended  view  of  lakes  and  forest 
and  purple  hills  which,  especially  under  the 


256  Madison 

glow  of  sunset,  has  won  the  unstinted  plaudits 
of  competent  critics,  some  of  whom  have 
likened  it  to  Old  World  scenes  far-famed  in 
song  and  story. 

Few  of  the  buildings  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity are  architecturally  worthy  of  mention 
here.  The  original  structures  were  North 
and  South  Halls,  mere  four-story  stone  boxes. 
The  Doric  University  Hall,  surmounting  Uni- 
versity Hill,  and  one  of  the  early  buildings, 
has  of  recent  years  been  greatly  improved  and 
extended,  and  now  has  some  dignity  of  out- 
line as  well  as  historic  association.  The  new 
Engineering  Building,  in  gray  brick,  is  pleas- 
ing in  form  and  color ;  Science  Hall  and  the 
Gymnasium,  great  piles  of  staring  red  brick,  are 
conspicuous  examples  of  the  average  college 
buildings  of  our  day  ;  while  the  best  one  can 
say  of  the  old  Library  Hall,  Chemical  Build- 
ing, Machine  Shop,  and  Chadbourne  Hall  (the 
women's  dormitory)  is  that  they  will  continue 
to  serve  a  useful  purpose  until  the  day  when 
the  State  feels  inclined  to  replace  them  with 
creditable  structures.  Upon  Observatory  Hill 
is  the  dignified  Washburn  Observatory,  and 
upon  the  western  slope  the  growing  mass  of 
buildings  appertaining  to  the  State  Experi- 


258  Madison 

mental  Farm    maintained    by  the  College  of 
Agriculture. 

At  the  eastern  (townward)  front  of  Uni- 
versity Hill,  and  occupying  land  once  a  part 
of  the  campus,  a  building  has  of  late  been 
reared  by  the  commonwealth  which  not  only 
is  far  better  than  any  of  the  University  struc- 
tures, but  quite  outranks  in  dignity  and 
thoroughness  of  modern  construction  and 
equipment  all  other  buildings  owned  by  the 
State  of  Wisconsin.  This  is  the  home  of  the 
library  and  museum  of  the  State  Histori- 
cal Society.  The  University  library  and 
its  accompanying  seminary  rooms  for  ad- 
vanced study,  each  with  its  special  library, 
occupy  quarters  here,  but  the  building  itself  is 
administered  by  the  society,  which  serves  as 
the  trustee  of  the  State.  Built  in  the  Italian 
Doric  order,  of  Bedford  sandstone,  the  State 
Historical  Library  Building  is  massive,  digni- 
fied, and  graceful,  a  worthy  housing  for  one  of 
the  most  important  reference  libraries  in 
America.  The  Wisconsin  Historical  Society1 
has  long  ceased  to  be  merely  a  feature  of 

1  The  author  has,  of  course,  omitted  to  say  what  many  of  his  read- 
ers understand,  that  as  secretary  he  has  had  a  large  share  in  giving 
the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society  its  conspicuous  position  in  the 
public  mind. — EDITOR. 


260  Madison 

Madison  or  of  Wisconsin  ;  it  is  to-day  regarded 
as  one  of  the  foremost  institutions  of  this 
character  in  the  country  —  its  splendid  library 
of  235,000  volumes  being  one  of  the  finest  col- 
lections of  Americana  extant,  rich  in  maps  and 
manuscripts  as  well  as  books ;  and  its  pub- 
lications rank  with  those  of  the  similar  so- 
cieties of  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and 
Pennsylvania. 

Madison  is  fortunate  in  her  elementary  and 
secondary  public  schools  as  well  as  in  posses- 
sing the  State  University ;  while  several  ad- 
mirable private  and  denominational  schools 
have  found  it  desirable  to  settle  here,  under 
the  wing  of  the  great  group  of  State  colleges. 
As  is  becoming  in  an  educational  centre,  much 
attention  is  here  paid  to  church  life.  The 
large  congregations  have  been  careful  to  select 
for  their  pulpits  men  of  prominence  and  abil- 
ity, fitted  to  attract  the  student  mind  ;  and  the 
Christian  associations  connected  with  the 
State  University  are  conducted  upon  a  high 
plane  of  usefulness. 

In  Madison  there  dwell  three  well-accentu- 
ated classes  of  inhabitants  :  those  relying  upon 
trade  and  industry,  the  State  and  federal  offi- 
cials, and  the  university  element,  each  of 


Madison  261 

them  growing  in  numbers  and  importance. 
There  is,  however,  far  less  differentiation  of  in- 
terests and  aspirations  than  is  commonly  seen 
in  college  towns.  It  has  for  many  years  been 
the  continual  aim  of  several  influential  clubs, 
notably  the  Woman's,  the  Literary,  the  Con- 
temporary, the  Six  O'clock,  and  the  Town  and 
Gown, — in  which  both  "  townfolk  "  and  "  gown 
folk  "  freely  commingle, —  to  break  down  the 
usual  class  barriers.  The  result  is  that  college 
men  coming  to  Madison  from  other  institu- 
tions find  here  few  of  the  sharp  social  dis- 
tinctions to  which  they  have  elsewhere  become 
accustomed. 

But  while  town  and  gown  are  practically  one 
in  Madison,  the  official  class  has  not  until 
of  late  been  conspicuous  in  her  social  life. 
The  brevity  of  political  tenure,  rendering  the 
permanent  inhabitants  in  a  measure  indifferent 
to  the  "  come-and-goes,"  has  doubtless  had 
much  to  do  with  this  ;  while  a  contributory 
element  has  been  the  fact  that  many  State 
officials,  finding  the  cost  of  living  at  the  capi- 
tal somewhat  higher  than  in  the  small  interior 
towns,  have  heretofore  left  their  families  at 
home.  With  the  new  statute  prohibiting 
public  employes  from  using  railroad  passes, 


262 


Madison 


transportation  to  and  from  home  now  forms  an 
important  item  of  expense  to  the  office  holder, 
and  a  large  proportion  of  them  are  moving 
their  families  to  the  seat  of  government.  It  is 
fair  to  predict  that,  through  the  influence  of 

the  clubs,  which 
have  recently 
taken  upon 
themselves  the 
paymen  t  of 
social  courtesies 
to  the  official 
class,  these  bar- 
riers may  in  turn 
be  removed,  as 
they  have  be- 
tween town  and 
gown. 

The  native 
American  ele- 
ment in  Madison 
is  chiefly  from  New  York  State,  with  a  large 
sprinkling  of  New  Englanders,  especially  from 
Vermont.  Perhaps  one  third  of  the  25,000 
people  in  this  community  are  of  German 
parentage,  and  there  is  a  considerable  and  in- 
fluential Scandinavian  element,  mostly  Nor- 


QENERAL  LUCIUS  FAIRCHILD 

EX-MINISTER    TO  SPAIN. 


Madison  263 

wegian ;  numerous  other  nationalities  there 
are,  but  these  are  the  most  conspicuous.  De- 
spite this  large  foreign  contingent,  however, 
and  the  cosmopolitan  tone  of  university  so- 
ciety, the  strong  flavor  of  Vermont  and  New 
York,  originally  given  to  this  community  in 
the  days  before  the  Civil  War,  is  still  the  domi- 
nant characteristic  in  the  social  life  of  Madi- 
son. Many  discriminating  visitors  frequently 
in  their  hours  of  first  impressions,  liken  her 
to  a  staid  New  England  college  town  ;  while 
others  revert  to  some  demure  hill-town  of  West- 
ern New  York  for  the  type  which  best  describes 
the  social  side  of  this  city  of  the  Wisconsin 
lakes. 

The  railroad  facilities  of  Madison  are  un- 
doubtedly remarkable  for  a  town  of  its  size  ; 
these  are  attracting  wholesale  houses  and 
warehousemen,  and  new  factories  are  talked 
of.  The  existing  industries  employ  some 
fifteen  hundred  men.  The  schools,  the  uni- 
versity, the  unusual  library  facilities  and  the 
beauty  and  healthfulness  of  the  town  bring  to 
it  an  ever-increasing  accession  of  cultured  peo- 
ple with  moderate  fixed  incomes.  Summer 
visitors  from  St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  and 
other  southern  cities  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 


264 


Madison 


are  encouraged  to  come  to  the  Four  Lakes. 
The  comfort  of  the  inhabitants  is  greatly  en- 
hanced by  a  system  of  macadamized  streets 
which  is  relatively  the  best  in  Wisconsin  ;  and 
there  is  also  maintained,  by  popular  subscrip- 
tion, a  labyrinth  of  twenty-five  miles  of  sub- 
urban drives,  enriched  by  the  art  of  the 
landscape  gardener,  and  leading  to  favorite 
view-points.  A  "  Forty  Thousand  Club "  is 
strenuously  seeking  to  exploit  and  double  the 
material  interests  of  the  town,  within  the  pre- 
sent decade.  But  when  all  is  said,  Madison's 
distinguishing  characteristics,  as  well  as  her 
neighborhood  gossip,  will  probably  long  re- 
main such  as  properly  pertain  to  the  political 
and  educational  centre  of  a  rapidly  developing 
commonwealth. 


MINNEAPOLIS— ST.  PAUL 

THE  TWIN  CITIES 

BY  CHARLES  B.  ELLIOTT 

"  We  are  citizens  of  two  fair  cities,"  said  a  Genoese  gentleman  to 
a  Florentine  artist,  "  and  if  I  were  not  a  Genoese  I  should  wish  to  be 
a  Florentine."  "  And  I,"  replied  the  artist,  "  if  I  were  not  Floren- 
tine— "  "  You  would  wish  to  be  a  Genoese,"  said  the  other.  "  No," 
replied  the  artist,  "  I  should  wish  to  be  Florentine." 

WITHIN  a  circle  with  a  radius  of  ten 
miles,  enclosing  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
are  two  modern  cities  with  a  population  of  al- 
most four  hundred  thousand.  The  pioneer 
settler  died  a  few  months  ago  and  the  first 
child  born  there  is  now  but  passing  middle  life. 
And  yet  a  little  more  than  half  a  century  after 
the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  the  cross  of  Christ 
and  the  arms  of  France  were  carved  on  an  oak 
tree  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  city 
of  Minneapolis. 

In  the  summer  of  1680  Louis  Hennepin,  a 
265 


266  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

Recollet  monk,  in  company  with  Michael 
Accault  and  a  Picard  named  Du  Gay  first  ex- 
plored the  Upper  Mississippi.  Hennepin 
wrote  a  famous  description  of  his  travels,  and 
gave  the  name  to  the  falls  he  had  discovered. 
But  La  Salle,  Hennepin's  fellow-voyager 
across  the  Atlantic,  was  the  first  to  write  a  de- 
scription of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  from 
information  which  must  have  been  furnished 
by  one  of  Hennepin's  party. 

For  almost  a  century  after  Hennepin  no 
white  man  visited  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 
In  1776,  Captain  Jonathan  Carver,  of  Connec- 
ticut, started  on  an  exploring  expedition,  to  the 
Northwest  and  reached  the  falls  about  the  mid- 
dle of  November.  Carver  made  the  first  pic- 
ture of  the  falls  and  gives  an  accurate 
description,  from  which  it  appears  that  the 
island  which  is  now  many  feet  below  the  water- 
fall was  then  in  its  midst.  Carver  greatly  ap- 
preciated the  beauty  of  the  country,  but,  like 
Hennepin,  passed  away  leaving  only  his  de- 
scription and  his  picture.  The  War  of  the 
Revolution  came  and  left  no  trace  on  the 
Northwest.  At  its  close  the  sovereignty  of 
France  and  of  the  new  nation  which  had  been 
born  into  the  world  faced  each  other  on  the 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul 


267 


banks  of  the  Mississippi.  In  1803  the  west  as 
well  as  the  east  bank  became  part  of  the  do- 
main of  the  United  States.  But  the  inhab- 
itants knew  nothing  of  the  change  until  Captain 
Zebulon  M.  Pike,  of  the  army,  came  to  put  an 
end  to  alleged  improper  transactions  on  the 
part  of  certain  British  traders.  On  an  island  a 


THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY  ABOUT  1850. 

few  miles  below  the  falls  Pike  held  a  council 
with  the  Sioux  and  signed  a  treaty  which  extin- 
guished the  Indian  title  to  a  tract  of  land  ex- 
tending nine  miles  on  each  side  of  the  river 
north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Minnesota  River, 
and  including  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  Twelve 
years  later  Major  Long,  with  two  grandsons 
of  Carver,  ascended  the  river  from  St.  Louis  in 


268  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

a  six-oared  skiff,  and  wrote  that  "  the  murmur- 
ing of  the  cascade,  the  roaring  of  the  river  and 
the  thunder  of  the  cataract  all  contribute  to 
render  the  scene  the  most  interesting  and  mag- 
nificent of  any  I  ever  before  witnessed." 

About  1811  the  philanthropic  Earl  of  Sel- 
kirk attempted  to  establish  a  colony  in  the  Red 
River  Valley.  Six  years  later  it  was  threat- 
ened by  starvation.  The  noble  Earl  then 
visited  the  country,  and  his  presence  caused  so 
much  disquietude  in  the  breasts  of  the  Indian 
agents  that,  fearing  improper  foreign  influence 
over  the  Indians,  they  induced  the  Government 
to  establish  a  military  post  in  the  country.  In 
August,  1819,  Colonel  Leavenworth,  with 
ninety-eight  soldiers  of  the  Fifth  Infantry, 
pitched  their  tents  near  the  mouth  of  the  Min- 
nesota River,  about  eight  miles  below  the  falls. 
A  year  later,  Colonel  Snelling,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  command,  built  the  fort  on  the 
bluff  where  it  now  stands,  and  gave  it  the  name 
of  Fort  St.  Anthony.  In  1824  General  Scott 
suggested  to  theWar  Department  the  propriety 
of  changing  the  name  of  the  fort  to  that  of  one 
whose  services  to  the  country  had  been  more 
conspicuous  than  those  of  Father  Hennepin's 
patron  saint. 


2  ;o  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

In  1821  the  soldiers  built  a  mill  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  near  where  now  stands  one 
of  the  greatest  flouring  mills  in  the  world. 
The  fort  was,  of  course,  the  centre  of  what 
life  there  was  in  the  country,  and  its  people 
occasionally  came  into  contact  with  the  great 
world  beyond.  In  1826  the  Indian  agent, 
Major  Taliafero,  officiated  at  the  marriage  of 
the  slave,  Dred  Scott,  who  was  destined  to 
play  a  part  in  history  doubtless  out  of  all 
proportion  to  his  expectations.  Colonel  Snel- 
ling's  son  Joseph  was  something  of  a  littera- 
teur, and,  after  fighting  a  duel  with  a  young 
officer,  he  became  involved  in  a  more  savage, 
although  less  bloody,  contest  with  N.  P. 
Willis. 

The  land  about  the  falls  was  a  military 
reservation  and  therefore  not  open  to  settle- 
ment. As  early  as  1837  a  Swiss  watchmaker 
by  the  name  of  Perry  attempted  to  settle 
there,  but  was  driven  off  by  the  soldiers. 
Going  a  few  miles  down  the  river,  he  became 
in  1838,  the  first  settler  upon  the  present  site 
of  the  city  of  St.  Paul.  His  only  competitor 
for  this  honor  is  a  certain  one-eyed  personage 
of  evil  disposition  and  unattractive  appear- 
ance whose  true  name  was  Parrant,  but  who 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul  271 

became  known  to  fame  as  Pig's  Eye.  With  an 
eye  to  the  advantages  of  the  liquor  business, 
Parrant  located  his  claim  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  reservation  and  near  the  river,  where  it  be- 
came a  flourishing  resort  for  soldiers,  Indians, 
and  other  frontier  characters.  It  was  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  river  and  entered  into 
competition  with  the  neighboring  village  of 
Stillwater  for  the  proud  position  of  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  Territory.  A  town  near  by  was 
surveyed  in  1847  and  during  the  following 
two  years,  as  we  are  credibly  informed  by  a 
local  historian,  "  maturative  and  creative  in- 
fluence, slowly  but  surely  tended  towards  civil- 
ization." From  the  same  source  we  learn  that 
in  1848  "the  nuclei  of  civilization"  consisted 
of  a  church,  a  school,  and  a  hotel, —  surely  not 
a  bad  beginning.  The  history  of  the  modern 
city  properly  begins  in  1848,  when  Minnesota 
was  organized  as  a  territory  with  St.  Paul  as 
the  provisional  capital.  The  territorial  gov- 
ernment was  organized  with  Alexander 
Ramsey  (afterwards  Governor  of  the  State, 
Senator,  and  Secretary  of  War)  as  Governor, 
and  duly  proclaimed  on  June  i,  1848.  The 
enabling  act  named  St.  Paul  as  the  temporary 
capital,  but  left  the  people  free  to  choose  at  the 


272  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 


first   general   election    a  permanent   place    of 
government. 

In  the  meantime,  a  rival  town  had  grown  up 
at  the  east  end  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 

and  the  long 
struggle  for  su- 
premacy began 
with  the  selec- 
tion of  a  per- 
manent capital. 
The  Indian  title 
to  the  lands  was 
extinguished  in 
1838,  but  two 
years  earlier 
the  commandant 
at  the  fort,  Ma- 
jor Plympton, 
availed  himself 
of  his  superior 
facilities  and 
staked  out  a  claim  and  built  a  cabin  near  the 
east  end  of  the  falls.  Other  claims  were  located 
soon  after,  all  of  which  ultimately  became  the 
property  of  Franklin  Steele  and  Pierre  Bottin- 
eau,  names  famous  in  the  early  history  of  the 
locality.  Early  in  1847  there  were  about  fifty 


ALEXANDER  RAMSEY. 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul  273 

people  in  the  village,  but  in  that  year  the  van 
of  "  that  great  army  which  is  moving  yet  but 
never  stopping  "  began  to  arrive. 

In  1848  three  hundred  people  were  on  the 
ground,  and  the  two  towns  of  St.  Anthony  City 
and  St.  Anthony  were  duly  surveyed  and 
launched  upon  the  market.  In  the  same  year 
it  is  interesting  to  find  the  names  of  Robert 
Rantoul  and  Caleb  Cushing,  famous  states- 
men of  the  day,  among  the  purchasers  of  a 
nine-tenths  interest  in  the  east-side  water 
power.  During  this  year  both  the  villages  of 
St.  Anthony  and  St.  Paul  were  thriving  under 
the  impulse  given  by  the  organization  of  a 
regular  government.  St.  Anthony  now  ob- 
tained a  post-office,  established  a  library  asso- 
ciation with  two  hundred  books  on  its  shelves, 
and  indulged  in  a  lecture  course  by  local  talent. 
St.  Paul  became  the  capital,  but  the  contro- 
versy was  not  finally  settled  until  1872,  when 
a  compromise  was  effected  by  the  permanent 
location  of  the  State  University  at  Minne- 
apolis. The  growth  of  the  two  villages  during 
the  next  decade  was  very  rapid.  In  1855 
Laurence  Oliphant,  diplomat  and  traveller, 
came  down  the  river  in  a  canoe  and  wrote  in- 
teresting descriptions  of  St.  Anthony  and  St. 


274  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

Paul  and  uncomplimentary  notices  of  the  peo- 
ple to  Blackwoods  Magazine.  He  was  charmed 
with  the  falls  and  the  "  comfortable,  civilized 
aspect  of  the  town,"  which  was  then  becoming 
known  as  a  "  watering  place."  Hotel  manners 
in  the  capital  city  were  not  satisfactory,  but  the 
opinions  of  England  and  the  Crimean  War 
expressed  by  prominent  citizens  in  the  free 
and  easy  vernacular  of  the  frontier  made  good 
reading. 

In  the  meantime  another  village  had  grown 
up  on  the  west  side  of  the  falls.  In  1849  tne 
old  government  mill,  the  little  house  a  few 
yards  back  and  two  cabins  built  by  mission- 
aries on  the  banks  of  Lake  Calhoun  were  the 
only  buildings  on  the  west  side  of  the  river. 
In  that  year  Robert  Smith,  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  Illinois,  through  some  means  best 
known  to  himself,  obtained  from  the  War  De- 
partment the  privilege  of  purchasing  the  mill 
and  the  house  and  of  making  a  claim  to  160 
acres  of  land.  This  tract  was  carefully  se- 
lected for  the  purpose  of  including  the  valuable 
water-power  rights  on  the  west  side.  In  the 
same  year  John  H.  Stevens,  then  postmaster 
at  the  fort,  also  obtained  a  permit  and  entered 
a  claim  to  the  land  now  covered  by  the  heart 


COURT  HOUSE  AND  CITY  HALL,  MINNEAPOLIS. 


275 


276  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

of  the  city.  While  Smith  and  Stevens  were 
favored  others  were  driven  from  the  reserva- 
tion by  the  soldiers.  Stevens  built  the  first 
frame  house  in  Minneapolis,  and  it  now  stands 
in  one  of  the  beautiful  parks  of  the  city  as  an 
evidence  of  the  antiquity  of  things.  Legal 
titles  could  not  be  obtained  on  the  west  side 
until  1855,  although  by  that  time  more  than 
two  hundred  houses  had  been  built.  In  the 
following  year  the  city  was  incorporated,  but  in 
1862  this  form  of  government  was  abandoned, 
and  the  people  lived  under  a  simple  township 
organization  until  1867.  Five  years  later,  in 
1872,  the  two  cities  of  St.  Anthony  and  Min- 
neapolis were  consolidated  under  the  name  of 
the  City  of  Minneapolis,  which  then  entered 
upon  a  period  of  phenomenal  growth. 

We  now  find  two  cities  in  the  stress  of  a 
rivalry  which  continued  for  many  years.  The 
west  line  of  St.  Paul  soon  became  the  east  line 
of  Minneapolis.  The  existence  of  two  cities 
so  near  together  was,  as  we  have  seen,  due  not 
to  deliberate  choice  but  to  circumstances.  In 
early  days  the  fall,  with  its  abundant  water- 
power  and  attractive  scenery,  was  the  point 
about  which  the  minds  of  people  revolved  ;  it 
was,  however,  on  the  military  reservation  ac- 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul  277 

quired  by  Pike,  and  settlers  were  driven  to  find 
a  foothold  farther  down  the  river  but  within 
reach  of  the  fort.  There  were  some  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  navigation  to  the  falls,  but  these 
would  soon  have  been  removed.  St.  Paul  was 
the  capital  of  the  State,  and  thus  became  the 
political  and  professional  centre.  In  the  con- 
test for  political  honors  this  supremacy  is  still 
maintained.  Its  leaders  control  the  politics 
of  the  State.  Governors  and  senators  are 
created  in  St.  Paul  and  not  in  Minne- 
apolis. The  business  enterprise  of  St.  Paul 
found  vent  in  building  up  great  wholesale 
houses  and  in  the  development  of  railway  and 
general  transportation  enterprises.  Minneap- 
olis, by  reason  of  its  location,  became  a  great 
manufacturing  centre.  The  vast  pine  forests 
of  the  north  sent  millions  of  logs  to  its  mills. 
Around  the  falls  were  built  the  greatest  flour- 
ing mills  in  the  world,  and  its  location  upon 
the  eastern  edge  of  the  great  prairies  of  Min- 
nesota and  Dakota  soon  made  it  the  primary 
wheat  market  of  the  world.  The  commercial 
and  business  interests  of  the  two  cities  thus  for 
a  number  of  years  developed  along  different 
and  clearly  defined  lines.  The  increase  of  pop- 
ulation is  shown  by  the  following  table : 


278  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

Year.      St.  Paul.     Minneapolis.     St.  Anthony. 

538 
3,285 

5,OI3 


1850 

1,083 

.... 

1860 

10,401 

2,564 

1870 

20,030 

13,066 

1880 

4i,473 

46,887 

1890 

I33,i56 

164,738 

1900 

163,632 

202,781 

The  falls  was  the  point  at  which  the  early 
thought  and  life  of  Minneapolis  centred,  and 
the  foundation  of  its  early  business  prosperity. 
Paul  Bourget,  in  his  Outre  Mer,  speaking  of 
the  reasons  for  the  location  of  American  cities, 
says,  "If  any  feature  such  as  a  water-fall  per- 
mitted factories,  industries  were  established. 
Minneapolis  had  no  other  origin.  The  falls  of 
the  Mississippi  lent  themselves  to  a  series  of 
incomparable  mills  and  this  was  the  starting- 
point  of  one  of  the  future  capitals  of  the  world." 
When  the  Government  established  a  fort  it  took 
the  name  of  the  falls,  and  the  first  town-sites 
were  only  distinguishable  from  each  other  by 
the  difference  between  St.  Anthony  and  St. 
Anthony  City. 

When  it  was  rumored  that  the  water-power 
was  about  to  be  destroyed,  consternation  rested 
upon  the  little  community.  In  1868  the  his- 
torian Parkman  had  written  : 


< 


280  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

"  Great  changes,  however,  have  taken  place  here  and 
are  still  in  progress.  The  rock  is  a  very  soft  and  friable 
sandstone,  overlaid  by  a  stratum  of  limestone  ;  and  it  is 
crumbling  with  such  rapidity  under  the  action  of  the 
water  that  the  cataract  will  soon  be  little  more  than  a 
rapid.1  Other  changes  equally  disastrous  in  the  artistic 
point  of  view  are  going  on  even  more  quickly.  Beside 
the  falls  stands  a  city  which  by  an  ingenious  combination 
of  Greek  and  Sioux  languages  received  the  name  of  Min- 
neapolis, the  City  of  the  Water,  and  which  in  1867  con- 
tained ten  thousand  inhabitants,  two  national  banks,  and 
an  opera  house,  while  its  rival  city  of  St.  Anthony,  immedi- 
ately opposite,  boasts  a  gigantic  water  cure  and  the  State 
University.  In  short,  the  great  natural  beauty  of  the 
place  is  utterly  spoiled." 

Minneapolis  is  essentially  a  manufacturing 
city.  For  many  years  the  principal  industry 
was  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  which  in  its 
various  forms  has  now  reached  great  magni- 
tude. The  annual  output  for  the  five  years 
prior  to  1850  was  1,500,000  feet  a  year.  In 
1870  it  reached  118,500,000  feet  a  year;  in 
1880  it  was  195,500,000  ;  in  1890,  300,000,000  ; 
in  [900  more  than  500,000,000,  and  in  addi- 
tion 57,000,000  shingles  and  94,000,000  laths. 
An  army  of  men  is  engaged  in  the  work  of 
cutting  the  logs  on  the  timber  lands  of  the  north. 

1  The  prediction  was  fulfilled  the  following  year,  when  it  became 
necessary  to  construct  elaborate  works  to  save  the  water-power. 


282  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

These  are  driven  or  floated  down  the  river  to 
the  booms  near  the  mills  which  line  the  river  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  city. 

The  prominence  of  the  city  in  flour-milling 
is  due  to  its  location  and  to  the  skill  and  ingen- 
uity of  the  men  who  have  been  engaged  in  the 
business.  Minneapolis  has  passed  through 
three  well-defined  milling  periods.  Prior  to 
1870  the  ancient  process  of  grinding  wheat  be- 
tween the  upper  and  nether  millstones  was  in 
use,  which  turned  into  middlings  much  of  the 
precious  gluten.  In  1872  an  emigrant  French 
miller  named  Legroux  devised  an  apparatus  for 
purifying  middlings,  and  as  a  result  the  product 
became  famous  as  "  Minnesota  Patent  Flour," 
and  brought  pre-eminence  and  wealth  to  the 
Minnesota  millers.  A  practical  monopoly  ex- 
isted until  the  Eastern  millers  discovered  that 
the  process  could  be  as  well  applied  to  the  win- 
ter wheat  of  Minnesota  as  to  the  spring.  Then 
began  a  new  struggle  for  pre-eminence.  After 
searching  through  the  world,  the  Minneapolis 
millers  discovered  in  Hungary  a  process  of  mil- 
ling hard  wheat  which  finally  disposed  of  the 
ancient  millstone  and  carried  the  wheat  between 
rolls  of  smooth  and  corrugated  surface  until, 
by  a  process  of  gradual  reduction,  the  desired 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul  283 

fineness  was  secured.  Foremost  in  the  work 
of  developing  this  great  industry  was  the  late 
Charles  A.  Pillsbury,  to  whose  enterprise  the 
city  is  greatly  indebted. 

At  the  present  time  the  Minneapolis  mills 
can  produce  76,366  barrels  of  flour  a  day, 
which  is  the  largest  daily  capacity  of  any 
group  of  mills  in  the  world.  The  flour  ex- 
port for  1900  was  4,702,485  barrels.  Thus 
the  mills  of  Minneapolis,  if  grinding  steadily, 
could  give  a  loaf  of  bread  every  day  to  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  States  of  Ohio, 
Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, Rhode  Island,  Vermont,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  Maine. 

The  conditions  in  a  new  and  rapidly  grow- 
ing city  cannot  be  properly  understood  with- 
out careful  consideration  of  such  material  facts 
as  we  have  been  considering.  But  there  is 
yet  another  story  to  tell.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  any  cities  in  the  United  States  of  the 
size  contain  so  many  beautiful  pictures  and 
fine  libraries.  The  Minneapolis  Public  Library 
is  well  known  to  all  interested  in  library  man- 
agement by  reason  of  the  liberality  and  novelty 
of  its  methods.  In  the  spring  of  1859  Bayard 
Taylor  delivered  a  lecture  in  the  village  and 


284  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

gave  the  proceeds,  less  than  one  hundred 
dollars,  to  a  library  association,  which  took  the 
name  of  the  Minneapolis  Atheneum.  Later 
Dr.  Kirby  Spencer  devised  to  it  a  fund  which 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  MINNEAPOLIS. 

now  yields  about  $8000  each  year,  for  the 
purchase  of  books  of  a  certain  designated 
class  and  character.  The  Atheneum  was  not 
a  public  library,  but  it  was  liberally  managed 
by  the  trustees  and  the  community  was  en- 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul  285 

abled  to  use  it  under  reasonable  restrictions. 
The  trustees  finally  took  the  lead  in  the 
establishment  of  a  public  library  into  which 
the  collection  of  the  Atheneum  was  merged. 
The  law  created  a  library  board  with  limited 
powers  of  taxation.  Public-spirited  citizens 
contributed  a  valuable  site  on  which  there  was 
erected  a  building  not  surpassed  by  any  struc- 
ture of  its  kind  in  the  country  for  convenience 
and  general  efficiency.  In  addition  to  the 
central  building,  there  are  two  branch  build- 
ings, one  erected  by  the  city  and  the  other 
presented  to  the  city  by  ex-Governor  John  S. 
Pillsbury,  who  had  already  made  his  name 
synonymous  with  public  generosity  by  his 
liberal  gifts  to  the  State  University.  The 
first  librarian  was  Herbert  Putnam,  afterwards 
of  the  Boston  Public  Library,  and  now  the 
Librarian  of  the  Congressional  Library  at 
Washington.  His  successor,  an  eminent 
scholar,  Dr.  James  K.  Hosmer,  has  continued 
building  upon  the  foundation  laid  by  Mr.  Put- 
nam. The  system  gives  to  the  public  a  much 
greater  liberty  of  access  to  the  books  than  had 
been  considered  safe  and  desirable  in  other 
large  libraries.  The  plan  has  been  successful 
and  there  have  been  no  losses  or  injuries  to  the 


286 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul 


books  which  would  justify  the  withdrawal  or 
restriction  of  such  freedom.  The  library  now 
contains  113,000  books,  and  during  the  past 


OLE  BULL  MONUMENT  IN  LORINQ  PARK. 

year  the  circulation  was  over  600,000,  which 
was  an  average  of  three  books  for  each  in- 
habitant of  the  city. 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul  287 

The  picture  gallery  and  school  of  the  Min- 
neapolis Society  of  Fine  Arts  occupies  the 
third  floor  of  the  Library  Building.  The  city 
owns  a  number  of  good  paintings,  which  it 
purchased  at  the  sale  of  the  gallery  that 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Exposition  Com- 
pany. Several  fine  paintings  have  been  pre- 
sented to  the  municipality  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Hill  of 
St.  Paul,  whose  wealth  has  also  been  used  to 
advance  and  cultivate  the  taste  for  artistic  work 
in  the  city  of  St.  Paul.  When  the  collection  of 
casts  selected  by  General  Cesnola  for  the  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  arrived  in  New  York 
before  the  building  was  ready,  it  was  promptly 
purchased  by  citizens  of  Minneapolis,  and  do- 
nated to  the  Exposition  Company,  which  was 
then  holding  annual  exhibits.  It  is  now  the 
property  of  Mr.  T.  B.  Janney,  by  whom  it  has 
been  placed  in  the  Public  Library,  and  thus  for 
all  practical  purposes  dedicated  to  the  art  edu- 
cation of  the  people.  Mr.  Hill  in  St.  Paul  and 
Mr.  T.  B.  Walker  in  Minneapolis  have  private 
collections  which  include  many  famous  and 
valuable  pictures. 

A  start  has  been  made  in  the  work  of  beau- 
tifying the  city  and  honoring  illustrious  citi- 
zens by  the  placing  of  Fjelde's  statue  of  Ole 


288  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

Bull  in  Loring  Park  and  Daniel  C.  French's 
statue  of  ex-Governor  John  S.  Pillsbury  in  the 
grounds  of  the  State  University.  A  law  has 
recently  been  passed  which  provides  for  the 
creation  of  permanent  art  commissions  in  St. 
Paul  and  Minneapolis.  It  is  hoped  that  these 
bodies  will  prevent  the  purchase  or  accep- 
tance of  unworthy  pictures  or  statues  by  the 
municipalities. 

In  proportion  to  the  population  the  parks 
in  Minneapolis  exceed  in  acreage  those  of  any 
other  city  in  America  and  of  all  but  three 
foreign  cities.  There  are  twenty-two  parks 
and  parkways,  not  counting  numerous  parklets 
formed  by  the  intersection  of  streets.  At  the 
present  time  the  park  board  controls  1552.81 
acres.  In  the  centre  of  the  city  lies  Loring 
Park,  with  its  beautiful  lake  and  well-kept  ver- 
dure. Starting  from  this  point,  Kenwood 
Boulevard  carries  us  along  a  wooded  bluffy 
region  from  whose  heights  are  obtained  chang- 
ing views  of  the  Lake  of  the  Isles,  which  is 
now  entirely  enclosed  by  a  boulevard.  A  short 
half-mile  south  is  Lake  Calhoun,  along  the 
eastern  terrace  of  which  we  pass  to  the 
borders  of  Lakewood  Cemetery  and  thence 
through  Interlaken,  rich  in  the  beauty  of  its 


290  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

wild  woods,  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Harriet 
and  its  pavilion.  At  the  south  angle  of  the 
lake  the  boulevard  leads  off  to  Minnehaha 
Creek,  which  is  the  outlet  of  Lake  Minne- 
tonka  and  flows  easterly  through  a  romantic 
valley  until,  falling  over  the  Trenton  limestone 
within  a  half-mile  of  the  Mississippi,  it  forms 
the  romantic  Falls  of  Minnehaha.  Around 
the  Falls  of  Minnehaha  there  is  a  park  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  acres,  containing  a 
zoological  garden  and  bordered  by  the  grounds 
of  the  Soldiers'  Home,  which  for  all  aesthetic 
purposes  is  a  part  of  it. 

Another  matter  of  striking  interest  is  the 
bicycle-path  system,  which  crosses  the  city  in 
every  direction  and  extends  for  miles  into  the 
country.  The  paths  are  constructed  and  sus- 
tained by  a  license  tax  of  fifty  cents  on  each 
wheel  which  uses  them.  During  the  past  year 
this  tax  produced  more  than  $20,000,  all  of 
which  was  expended  in  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  the  paths. 

The  State  University  is  the  crowning  feature 
of  the  non-commercial  institutions  of  the  city 
and  State.  The  first  class  was  graduated  in 
1873,  and  ten  Years  thereafter  the  graduating 
class  numbered  thirty-five.  Its  great  weakness, 


THE  FALLS  OF  MINNEHAHA. 


29! 


292  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

as  of  all  Western  institutions,  was  the  lack  of 
proper  preparatory  schools,  and  President  Fol- 
well  devised  a  unique  plan  by  which  the  State 
high  schools  became  feeders  for  the  Uni- 
versity. There  are  now  about  3500  students 
in  the  University,  making  it  the  second  or 
third  largest  in  size  in  the  United  States. 
Upon  the  foundation  broadly  laid  by  the  first 
president  of  the  institution,  President  North- 
rup  has  since  1884  builded  until  the  institution 
now  has  a  magnificent  income  and  an  equip- 
ment second  to  few  in  the  country. 

Another  notable  feature  in  connection  with 
the  local  government  in  Minneapolis  is  her 
method  in  dealing  with  the  liquor  question. 
After  a  period  of  controversy  an  ordinance 
was  passed  under  which  a  line  was  drawn 
around  the  downtown  district.  Within  this  pat- 
rol limit  saloons  can  exist  upon  the  payment 
of  a  license  fee  of  $1000  a  year.  As  a  result, 
the  residence  part  of  the  city  is  entirely  free 
from  the  demoralizing  influence  of  the  saloon. 

In  a  general  way  the  difference  in  popula- 
tion expresses  the  present  relation  between 
the  two  cities  in  other  respects.  In  appear- 
ance St.  Paul  is  more  metropolitan  than 
Minneapolis,  as  it  is  more  compactly  built. 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul  293 

St.  Paul  lies  along  the  side  of  a  steep  bluff. 
It  is  rugged  and  diverse  and  has  the  narrow 
streets  and  crowded  appearance  of  a  large 
city.  From  the  crest  of  the  hills,  many  mag- 
nificent residences  look  down  upon  the  river. 
Westwardly  the  city  straggles  over  the  rolling 
country  until  it  reaches  the  Minneapolis  line, 
enclosing  in  the  meantime  the  State  Fair 
Grounds  and  centres  of  population  which 
were  originally  separate  municipalities,  such 
as  St.  Anthony  Park,  Merriam  Park,  and  Ham- 
line.  Minneapolis  is  built  upon  an  almost 
level  plain,  lying  between  the  river  and  Lake 
Calhoun,  broken  toward  the  north  by  a  line  of 
high  ground  parallel  with  and  a  mile  west  of 
the  river.  Its  streets  are  broad  and  the  houses 
set  well  back  in  ample  grounds.  Enclosed 
grounds  are  the  exception.  In  St.  Paul  the 
fashionable  residences  are  largely  concentrated 
upon  the  crest  of  the  bluff,  while  in  Minne- 
apolis they  are  scattered  in  various  localities. 
There  is  also  a  general  lack  of  concentration 
in  the  business  districts  of  Minneapolis,  which 
does  not  exist  in  St.  Paul. 

St.  Paul's  wholesale  trade,  if  we  exclude  lum- 
ber and  flour,  is  greater  than  that  of  Minneap- 
olis. It  is  also  the  head  of  practical  navigation 


294  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

on  the  Mississippi  and  the  railway  centre  of 
the  Northwest,  although  all  trains  reach  both 
cities.  The  Minneapolis  and  St.  Louis  and  the 
"  Soo  "  are  the  only  railways  with  headquarters 
in  Minneapolis,  while  St.  Paul  is  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Chicago  and  Great  Western  and  of 
the  great  transcontinental  lines,  the  Northern 
Pacific  and  the  Great  Northern. 

The  electric  street-railway  system  in  both 
cities  is  owned  by  one  company,  but  the  busi- 
ness is  conducted  in  each  city  under  a  local 
management.  There  are  1 50  miles  of  track  in 
Minneapolis,  and  123  in  St.  Paul.  Two  busy 
interurban  lines  connect  the  centres  of  the  two 
cities.  The  public-school  systems  are  of  the 
same  general  character  and  stand  well  the  com- 
parison with  those  of  other  cities.  St.  Paul  has 
many  children  in  the  parochial  schools.  Her 
park  system  is  extensive  and  beautiful  and  com- 
prises about  1 100  acres.  The  most  extensive 
is  Como  Park,  which  lies  in  the  interurban  dis- 
trict and  is  a  popular  resort  for  thousands  of 
people  during  the  summer  months.  St.  Paul 
has  a  large  number  of  successful  denomina- 
tional educational  institutions,  such  as  Mac- 
allister  College  and  Hamline  University.  The 
most  conspicuous  building  in  the  city  is  the 


296  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

new  white  marble  capitol  now  being  erected 
by  the  State  at  an  expense  of  over  $3,000,000. 
The  St.  Paul  Public  Library  is  not  equal  to  that 
of  Minneapolis,  but  her  citizens  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  use  of  the  library  of  the 
Minnesota  Historical  Society,  which  is  the 
miscellaneous  State  library. 

A  great  deal  of  nonsense  has  been  written 
about  the  characteristics  of  the  people  of  these 
two  cities.  To  render  the  situation  more  in- 
teresting and  romantic  all  manner  of  inherent 
racial  and  sociological  differences  have  been 
invented.  Their  struggle  for  supremacy  has 
been  described  as  exceeding  in  bitterness  the 
ancient  rivalry  of  Hooks  and  Kabbeljaws. 
Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth.  The 
municipal  and  commercial  rivalry  was  natural 
and  beneficial,  and  was  ordinarily  kept  within 
reasonable  bounds.  Both  cities  bounded  up- 
ward under  the  impulse  thus  given  to  energy 
and  enterprise.  Each  without  the  other  would 
itself  be  less.  The  people  are  of  the  same 
type,  —  restless,  ambitious  empire  builders. 
They  have  striven  mightily  and  manfully  in 
business  and  politics,  but  mingled  amicably  in 
social  intercourse.  What  differences  in  charac- 
ter do  exist  are  largely  due  to  the  different  race 


Minneapolis — St.  Paul  297 

elements  which  compose  the  population.  If 
God  sifted  three  kingdoms  to  obtain  the  seeds 
with  which  to  plant  New  England,  he  resifted 
New  England  and  the  kingdoms  for  the  plant- 
ing of  the  Northwest.  The  present  popula- 
tion is  diverse,  but  the  predominent  element  is 
the  old  Saxon  blood. 

For  purposes  of  comparison,  Ramsey 
County  is  St.  Paul,  and  Hennepin  County  is 
Minneapolis.  By  the  State  census  of  1895, 
Ramsey  County  had  147,537  inhabitants,  of 
which  140,292  were  in  St.  Paul ;  Hennepin 
County  had  217,  798  inhabitants,  of  which  192,- 
833  were  in  Minneapolis.  Bearing  this  propor- 
tion in  mind,  the  following  table,  which  gives 
the  nativity  of  the  population  of  the  counties, 

is  of  interest : 

Ramsey.  Hennepin 

Native  born 96,486  146,848 

England  and  Canada   „      7,036  9,646 

Ireland 5,468  4,339 

Germany 16,593  *  ^337 

France 281  264 

Sweden     10,665  22,480 

Norway 3,087  1 2,762 

Bohemia i,245  815 

Poland I,54I  r>°93 

This  does  not  show  the  number  of  the  de- 
scendants of  such  foreign  born  residents  now 
in  the  counties  who  are  included  under  the 


298  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

head  of  native  born.  It  appears  that  the  per- 
centage of  native  born  is  much  larger  in 
Minneapolis  than  in  St.  Paul.  Thus,  Ramsey 
County  with  70,261  less  population,  had  1129 
more  Irish  and  5256  more  Germans  than  Hen- 
nepin  County.  In  Hennepin,  the  Norwegians 
and  Swedes  form  a  large  element.  St.  Paul 
with  its  German  and  Irish  born  citizens,  is 
Democratic  in  politics  and  strongly  Roman 
Catholic  in  religion,  while  in  Minneapolis  the 
Scandinavians  and  Republicans  predominate. 
The  sons  of  Maine,  Vermont,  New  York,  and 
Ohio  maintain  flourishing  societies,  but  are 
completely  eclipsed  by  the  sons  of  Norway, 
Sweden,  and  Denmark.  They  are  everywhere, 
in  all  positions  and  all  kinds  of  business,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest.  Coming  of  the  old  Ger- 
manic stock,  they  take  to  self-government  and 
officeholding  as  deftly  as  the  sons  of  the  town 
meeting.  At  present  it  is  not  a  homogeneous 
people  but  an  aggregation  of  all  the  elements,— 
a  seething  cauldron  of  the  races,  the  residuum 
of  which  we  believe  will  be  a  type  of  genuine 
American  citizenship,  broadened  and  liberalized 
by  the  ancestral  outlook  upon  the  world. 

It  is  fashionable  at  present  to  speak  lightly 
of  Buckle's  theory  of  the  influence  of  climate 


300  Minneapolis — St.  Paul 

upon  the  character  of  a  people,  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  we  cannot  understand  the  develop- 
ment of  a  people  unless  we  know  something 
of  the  climatic  conditions  under  which  they 
live.  The  northwestern  climate  is  much  better 
than  the  reputation  it  succeeded  in  establishing 
in  the  early  days  before  the  blizzard  centre 
moved  eastward.  While  not  strictly  like  that 
described  in  the  old  hymn, 

"  December  as  pleasant  as  May," 

there  are  few  pleasanter  localities  in  which  to 
spend  the  entire  year.  It  is  a  climate  for 
thinking  and  doing.  Spring  and  autumn  are 
delightful  beyond  the  power  of  description, 
and  the  heat  of  midsummer  is  tempered  by 
the  myriad  lakes  which  dot  the  surrounding 
country.  In  midwinter  the  thermometer  takes 
an  occasional  downward  plunge  which  sadly 
disarranges  the  record  of  averages,  but  for 
four  days  out  of  every  five  between  December 
and  March  the  sun  shines  gloriously  through 
an  atmosphere  of  mountain  brilliancy.  Then 
there  is  in  the  air  a  hidden  food  of  life,  upon 
which  has  fed  the  strenuous  race  of  men  which 
within  the  short  space  of  one  life  has  builded 
two  great  cities  where  none  were  before. 


T 


DES  MOINES 

IOWA'S  CAPITAL  CITY 

BY  FRANK  I.  HERRIOTT 

THE  beginnings  of  the  city  of  Des  Moines 
are  not  shrouded  in  romance  or  shadowy 
tradition.  Thrilling  episode  and  epoch- 
making  events  do  not  abound  in  her  history. 
Cannon  have  never  thundered  against  the 
gates  of  the  city,  nor  hostile  armies  marched 
and  counter-marched  within  her  environs. 
Not  even  the  blood-curdling  war-whoop  of  the 
Indian  ever  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  her 
pioneers.  Yet  the  story  of  the  capital  city  of 
Iowa  is  neither  prosaic  nor  uninteresting.  Her 
origin  and  early  history  typify  the  beginnings 
of  civilized  life  throughout  almost  the  entire 
State  of  Iowa  ;  and  since  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment was  transferred  to  the  city  in  1857,  her 
history  is  in  epitome  the  history  of  the  great 
commonwealth  of  which  she  is  the  capital. 

301 


302  Des  Moines 

The  origin  of  the  city's  name  is  a  moot 
question  among  antiquarians.  Popular  ety- 
mology has  derived  Des  Moines  from  the 
early  associations  of  Trappist  monks  at  or 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river, — la  riviere  des 
Moines:  but  Dr.  Elliot  Coues  regarded  this 
as  spurious  etymology.  Some  local  historians 
have  contended  that  the  name  arose  from  the 
fact  that  the  valley  of  the  Des  Moines  River 
was  inhabited  by  the  Mound  Builders  :  numer- 
ous mounds  were  found  in  what  is  now  the 
heart  of  the  city  ;  hence,  the  "  river  of  the 
mounds."  The  French  explorer  Nicollet  as- 
cribes its  origin  to  the  Algonquin  name  Moin- 
goinan,  and  the  earliest  map  showing  the 
journeys  and  discoveries  of  La  Salle,  Joliet, 
and  Marquette  designate  the  river  by  the  Al- 
gonquin name.  In  later  times  the  French 
voyageurs  and  traders  clipped  the  word,  for  we 
find  Des  Mains,  De  Moin,  De  May  en,  Demoin, 
Demoir  and  sometimes  Demon.  The  French 
settlers  probably  had  in  mind  the  great  "  mid- 
dle region "  beween  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Missouri  when  they  referred  to  the  De  Moyen 
or  Des  Moines. 

The  city  of  Des  Moines  was  originally  a 
frontier  fort.  Unlike  the  majority  of  such  in 


304  Des  Moines 

the  West  in  early  days,  this  outpost  at  the 
"  forks  of  the  Raccoon  "  was  not  established  to 
protect  the  whites  from  the  Indians.  On  the 
contrary,  Fort  Des  Moines  was  founded  to 
guard  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  to  secure 
them  in  the  peaceful  possession  of  their  hunt- 
ing-grounds and  to  protect  them  against  rapa- 
cious land  agents,  the  encroachments  of  the 
whites  and  the  bloody  Sioux.  And  the  event 
was  typical  of  the  relations  of  the  national  Gov- 
ernment with  the  Indian  tribes  of  Iowa. 

When  Iowa  became  known  to  the  people  of 
the  East  the  tide  of  emigration  soon  began  to 
run  high  and  strong  toward  the  Mississippi. 
It  is  not  extravagant  to  say  that  never  have 
more  beautiful  lands  been  opened  for  human 
settlement  than  lay  beyond  the  "  Father  of 
Waters "  in  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Sacs 
and  Foxes.  "  Une  ravissante  contrde"  exclaimed 
in  1842  King  Louis  Philippe's  son,  Prince  de 
Joinville,  as  he  gazed  upon  the  gorgeous  green 
of  the  river  bluffs,  forests,  and  valleys,  and 
meadows  and  prairies  of  Iowa.  The  wonder- 
ful stories  related  of  the  marvellous  fertility  of 
the  soil  and  the  attractiveness  of  nature  in 
this  Western  Mesopotamia  gave  a  tremen- 
dous impetus  to  emigration.  But  the  national 


Des  Moines  305 

Government  firmly  held  back  the  tide.  The 
Mississippi  was  patrolled  by  troops  to  prevent 
the  settlers  invading  the  lands.  Colonel  Zach- 
ary  Taylor  and  Lieutenant  Jefferson  Davis, 
both  later  to  achieve  great  fame,  were  among 
those  who  guarded  the  rights  of  the  Iowa  In- 
dians and  ejected  overzealous  frontiersmen  and 
"squatters."  But  the  pressure  of  population 
westward  was  irresistible  ;  and  small  pretexts 
were  sufficient  to  break  down  the  barriers. 
The  war  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  under  their 
great  leader,  Black  Hawk,  came  on  and  by  the 
treaty  of  1832,  known  as  the  "  Black  Hawk 
Purchase,"  negotiated  by  General  Winfield 
Scott,  a  tract  along  the  Mississippi  fifty  miles 
wide  was  opened  for  settlement.  This  strip 
was  rapidly  populated  and  in  1836  the  Keokuk 
reserve  was  ceded  to  the  United  States.  In 
1837  a  large  tract  adjacent  on  the  west,  aggre- 
gating i, 2 50,000  acres,  was  purchased  from  the 
Indians.  In  a  short  time  the  settlers  began  to 
clamor  for  the  opening  of  the  beautiful  lands 
in  the  Des  Moines  Valley  and  beyond,  and  to 
petition  Congress;  and  on  October  n,  1842, 
Governor  John  Chambers,  the  second  Terri- 
torial governor  of  Iowa,  negotiated  a  treaty  at 
Agency  City  which  obtained  title  to  the  rest  of 


306  Des  Moines 

Iowa.  By  its  terms  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  were 
permitted  to  remain  three  years  in  their  be- 
loved hunting-grounds  before  their  departure 
for  Kansas.  It  was  the  latter  provision  that 
led  to  the  establishment  of  Fort  Des  Moines. 
In  May,  1834,  a  military  camp  styled  Fort 
Des  Moines  was  established  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  near  where  Keokuk  now  is,  but  aban- 
doned in  1837.  As  early  as  1835  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Stephen  W.  Kearny  had  been  ordered 
by  the  War  Department  at  Washington  to 
"proceed  up  the  river  Des  Moines  to  the  Rac- 
coon fork  "  and  reconnoitre  with  a  view  to  the 
selection  of  a  military  post.  He  reported  ad- 
versely, however,  believing  that  a  fort  should 
be  established  farther  north  near  the  Minne- 
sota line  ;  and  nothing  was  done  until  the 
treaty  of  1842  was  ratified.  Then  General 
Scott,  in  order  to  protect  the  Indians  from  mo- 
lestation by  the  whites,  directed  that  troops  be 
stationed  near  the  Agency  buildings  then  lo- 
cated a  few  miles  south  and  east  of  the  pres- 
ent city.  Captain  James  Allen  of  the  First 
Dragoons  selected  the  "  forks  of  the  Rac- 
coon," and  in  May,  1843,  a  steamboat  came  up 
the  Des  Moines  River  and  landed  soldiers  and 
supplies.  The  soldiers  set  about  building  the 


Des  Moines 


307 


fort,  which,  when  completed,  consisted  simply 

of  the  officers'  and    men's  quarters,  one-story 

log  huts  with  puncheon  floors,   a  storehouse, 

hospital,  and  stables,  all  so  arranged  as  to  form 

a  right  angle,  the  sides  of  which  ran  parallel 

to   the  banks  of 

the     converging 

rivers,  and  came 

to     a    point    at 

their      junction. 

There    was    no 

stockade,      e  m  - 

bankment,  or 

outlying      moat 

on   the   exposed 

view    or    any 

other  protective 

feature. 

During  the 
time  the  fort 
was  garrisoned 
there  were  a  few 
whites  permit- 
ted to  occupy 

lands  near  by, — a  representative  of  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company,  traders,  a  tailor,  a  blacksmith, 
and  gardeners,  persons  who  served  the  fort  in 


KEOKUK  AT  THE  AQE  OF  67. 

FROM    A   DAGUErtROTYPE    TAKEN    IN    1847. 


308  Des  Moines 

some  way, — but  the  population  never  exceeded 
two  hundred,  soldiers  and  all.  Captain  Allen 
and  his  dragoons  had  to  give  all  their  time  to 
restraining  restless  bands  of  Indians  and 
crowding  back  the  eager  settlers  who  were  on 
the  eastern  boundaries  of  the  purchase  await- 
ing the  departure  of  the  Indians.  The  latter, 
although  they  manifested  a  disinclination  to 
leave  their  old  haunts,  and  trouble  was  antici- 
pated when  the  order  came  for  them  to  move, 
nevertheless  peacefully  withdrew  under  their 
great  chief  Keokuk. 

Even  before  the  Indians'  title  to  the  lands 
had  expired  many  whites  had  slipped  over 
the  borders,  dodged  the  dragoons,  spied  out 
the  most  desirable  places  for  settlement  and 
determined  to  claim  them  as  soon  as  they 
could  be  entered.  Many  a  story  is  told  of 
men  roosting  high  in  trees  for  days  to  keep 
out  of  the  sight  of  the  troops.  On  the  night 
of  October  10,  1845,  men  were  stationed  in  all 
directions  from  the  fort  ready  to  measure  off 
their  claims.  Precisely  at  twelve  o'clock,  mid- 
night, a  signal  gun  was  fired  at  the  Agency 
house.  Answering  guns  rang  out  sharply  in 
quick  succession  from  hilltop  and  valley  for 
miles  around.  The  moon  was  shining  dimly 


Des  Moines  309 

and  its  beams  ill  supplemented  the  fitful  gleams 
of  the  settlers'  torches  as  they  hastily  made 
their  rough  surveys,  marked  by  blazing  trees 
or  by  setting  stones  or  stakes.  Men  helped 
each  other.  Two  friends  would  run  in  two 
directions  and  each  fire  a  gun  when  the  ter- 
minus was  reached.  When  the  sun  came  up 
a  new  empire  had  come  into  being  and  the 
order  and  industry  of  the  white  man  had  dis- 
placed the  listless,  unprogressive  life  of  the 
savage. 

The  rush  of  the  settlers  into  the  region 
about  Des  Moines  ahead  of  the  surveyor's 
chain  led  to  the  development  of  an  institution 
of  peculiar  interest  in  Western  history.  Not 
only  was  it  unique,  it  was  also  a  striking  in- 
stance of  the  spontaneous  growth  of  an  insti- 
tution of  government.  It  was  almost  if  not 
quite  the  realization  under  almost  ideal  condi- 
tions of  the  theory  of  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau 
that  Government  arises  from  and  rests  on  a 
Social  Compact.  It  was  known  as  a  Land 
Club  or  League  or  Claim  Association,  and  it 
played  a  large  part  in  the  organization  of  gov- 
ernment in  Iowa.  It  overrode  the  law  of  the 
land,  or  rather  it  blocked  the  natural  course  of 
the  law ;  yet  at  the  same  time  it  maintained 


310  Des  Moines 

order  and  secured  under  strict  regulations 
equity  for  the  early  settlers  when  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  would  have  worked  harsh  in- 
justice, and  possibly  have  produced  serious 
outbreaks  against  national  authority. 

When  Iowa  was  first  opened  for  settlement 
the  pioneers  could  not  pre-empt  lands  or 
secure  title  to  them  until  they  were  surveyed  ; 
and  then  only  at  public  sale.  But  the  sur- 
veyor lagged  far  behind  the  pioneer,  who  con- 
sidered not  the  law,  but,  anxious  for  a  home, 
hurried  into  the  new  tracts  and  settled  on  his 
claim.  The  "  squatter  "  had  no  legal  title  to 
his  claim,  nor  could  he  obtain  it  by  priority  of 
occupancy  ;  and  he  knew  that  any  stranger  or 
speculator  with  a  longer  purse  string  could  pur- 
chase his  land  and  oust  him  and  his  family  the 
moment  the  Government  should  offer  it  for 
sale.  It  was  the  likelihood  of  this  dire  con- 
tingency that  led  to  the  formation  of  Claim 
Clubs  or  Associations  in  nearly  every  locality 
in  Iowa.  These  clubs  were  composed  of  all 
the  settlers  in  a  township  or  county.  They 
adopted  a  constitution,  elected  officers  and 
conducted  their  affairs  by  definite  procedure. 
They  governed  all  matters  relating  to  the 
amount  and  character  of  claims,  their  occu- 


Des  Moines  311 

pancy,  improvement,  abandonment,  transfers, 
and  disputes.  The  decisions  of  the  club  were 
rigidly  enforced.  Claims  were  recorded  and 
the  members  were  under  solemn  agreement 
not  only  to  guard  each  other  from  interference 
but  to  prevent  lands  claimed  from  being  sold 
to  strangers  at  the  public  sales.  Unhappy 
was  the  fate  of  a  man  who  had  the  temerity  to 
"  jump  "  a  claim  or  to  outbid  a  claimant.  Tar 
and  feathers  or  unceremonious  banishment  or 
even  harsher  treatment  was  not  unlikely.  At 
the  sale  the  club  selected  a  member  who 
would  bid  in  the  members'  claims.  He  was  ac- 
companied by  a  posse  whose  presence  always 
prevented  outsiders  from  bidding  as  the  law 
contemplated.  If  the  Government  officials 
were  not  always  in  sympathy  with  the  settlers, 
at  least  they  were  always  discreet  enough  to 
manifest  no  disapproval  of  the  proceedings. 

These  Claim  Clubs  of  Iowa  aroused  fierce 
opposition  in  the  East.  Calhoun  and  Clay 
denounced  them  as  "conspiracies  of  lawless 
men  "  who  so  terrorized  would-be  purchasers 
that  bona  fide  sales  were  impossible,  and  they 
urged  that  vigorous  measures  be  taken  to 
abate  them.  Webster  came  to  the  settlers'  de- 
fence. He  pleaded  for  what  he  called  their 


312  Des  Moines 

"  reasonable  rights  "  under  the  circumstances. 
The  Government  had  delayed  the  surveys ; 
yet  the  settlers  had  been  encouraged  to  go 
into  the  new  lands  and  make  their  homes  ;  to 
dispossess  them  would  work  severe  hardship  ; 
the  clubs,  although  outside  the  pale  of  the  law, 
had  enforced  order  and  maintained  to  a  marked 
degree  all  the  forms  of  law  and  government, 
and  violence  was  extremely  rare.  To  Web- 
ster's eloquence  was  due  the  passage  of  the 
early  pre-emption  laws.  They  were  not  liberal 
enough,  however,  and  in  1848  a  strong  Claim 
Club  was  formed  at  Des  Moines. 

Although  the  treaty  of  1842  opened  the 
lands  in  1845  they  were  not  surveyed  until 
1847  and  title  could  not  be  obtained  until  late 
in  1 848.  Meantime  claims  in  large  numbers  had 
been  entered.  In  1848  speculators  and  "land- 
sharks  "  came  in  and  roamed  about  regarding 
the  settlers'  claims  with  envious  and  designing 
eyes.  Fear  of  them  was  a  leading  motive  in  the 
formation  of  the  Claim  Club  of  1 848.  Strangers 
were  closely  watched.  Any  suspicious  action 
led  to  the  suspect  being  warned  that  discre- 
tion was  the  better  part  of  valor.  There  were 
some  disturbances  but  none  were  serious. 
The  most  notable  arose  within  the  club  itself. 


Des  Moines  3r3 

One  Perkins  jumped  his  neighbor  Flemmings's 
claim.  The  latter  appealed  to  his  club  mem- 
bers. A  "  war  "  ensued  in  which  Perkins  nar- 
rowly escaped  hanging.  When  the  sale  took 
place  at  Iowa  City,  125  miles  east  of  Des 
Moines,  the  club's  agent  bid  in  at  $1.25  all  of 
the  claims  and  soon  thereafter  the  club  ceased 
to  play  any  part  in  the  life  of  the  community. 

The  first  local  government  to  which  the  in- 
habitants of  Des  Moines  were  subject  was  the 
county  government  of  Polk  County  provided 
for  by  the  Territorial  Legislature  in  January, 
1846.  The  town  government  was  not  organ- 
ized until  1851.  By  this  time  Fort  Des  Moines 
had  become  a  thriving  place.  It  was  an  im- 
portant way  station  on  one  of  the  main  stage 
routes  to  the  West.  In  1852,  the  establishment 
of  a  Government  land  office  brought  to  the 
town  for  the  entry  of  lands  the  multitudes  of 
speculators  and  settlers  then  rushing  into 
Western  Iowa.  In  the  days  of  the  gold  fever 
and  during  the  border  wars  in  Kansas  and 
Nebraska  her  ferries  and  hostelries  did  a 
bustling  trade. 

In  those  early  days  life  was  free,  easy, 
simple,  and  buoyant.  The  population  of 
Fort  Des  Moines  was  made  up  of  people 


3 14  Des  Moines 

from  both  Southern  and  Northern  States. 
They  lived  in  log  huts  or  simple  frame  build- 
ings. Pork  and  "  corn-dodgers,"  coffee,  some- 
times made  of  parched  corn,  and  tea,  often 
made  from  native  plants,  constituted  in  the 
main  their  diet.  They  had  to  go  many  miles 
to  get  their  flour  ground.  Oxen  were  gen- 
erally used  in  drawing  wagons  and  ploughs. 
Stage  coaches  were  the  common  carriers  until 
the  railroads  entered  the  city  in  1866.  Prior 
to  1858  the  State  constitution  prohibited  the 
establishment  of  banks  of  note  issue  and  the 
money  of  the  citizens  was  chiefly  "  wildcat  " 
and  "red  dog"  currency.  In  1857-58  the 
City  Council  so  far  trenched  on  the  powers  of 
Congress  as  to  issue  "  City  Scrip,"  with  the 
twofold  object  of  paying  the  city's  debt  and 
affording  the  citizens  a  circulating  medium. 
As  the  scrip  did  not  become  popular,  in  a  short 
time  the  city  called  in  its  paper  and  redeemed 
it.  Like  most  frontier  towns  a  certain  reck- 
less disregard  of  the  sober  customs  of  the 
Eastern  cities  characterized  the  social  life. 
Sunday  was  a  sort  of  gala  day,  when  horse  and 
foot  races  between  whites  and  Indians,  accom- 
panied by  more  or  less  gambling  and  carousal, 
were  not  infrequent.  But  the  garish  and  reck- 


IOWA  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  MONUMENT. 


316  Des  Moines 

less  life  soon  gave  place  to  the  staid  habits  of 
well-ordered  communities,  and  since  the  Civil 
War  Des  Moines  has  justly  sustained  the 
reputation  of  a  "conservative"  Western  city. 

The  navigation  of  the  Des  Moines  River 
was  a  great  factor  in  the  first  years  of  the  city's 
growth.  Steamboats  came  up  the  river  from 
Keokuk  in  the  spring  and  summer  months 
and  brought  most  of  the  city's  supplies.  The 
people  living  along  its  course  soon  perceived 
that  the  river  could  be  made  a  great  waterway 
for  commerce.  Those  were  the  days  of  "  in- 
ternal improvements."  Congress  was  induced 
in  1846  to  give  to  the  new  State  every 
alternate  section  of  unsold  land  in  a  strip 
five  miles  wide  on  either  bank  of  the  river 
to  be  used  for  the  improvement  of  the  chan- 
nel. A  River  Improvement  Company  was 
formed.  River  traffic  increased  rapidly  and 
the  people  went  wild  over  the  project.  As 
usual  the  matter  soon  drifted  into  politics  and 
decided  the  fate  of  political  parties.  Dem- 
agogism  ran  riot.  A  story  is  told  of  two 
candidates  for  Congress  in  1850,  campaigning 
together,  who  rushed  across  a  field  to  greet  a 
farmer.  The  first  one  to  reach  him,  extending 
his  hand,  cried  : 


Des  Moines  31? 

"  Hurrah  for  river  improvement !  " 

The  farmer  so  eagerly  sought  proved  to  be 
a  scarecrow. 

The  net  result  of  all  the  excitement  and  spec- 
ulation attending  the  various  efforts  to  improve 
the  river  was  failure  and  collapse.  The  State 
after  expending  immense  sums  abandoned  the 
task  in  1862.  Worse  still,  complications  arose 
over  the  extent  of  the  grant  from  the  Govern- 
ment, and  left  the  people  above  the  city  a  sorry 
heritage  of  costly  litigation  that  continued  till 
1892  over  the  titles  to  their  homes.  The 
entire  experiment  was  an  instructive  illustra- 
tion of  the  futility  of  most  of  the  attempts  at 
"  internal  improvements "  fostered  by  con- 
gressional land  grants. 

In  the  summer  of  1894  the  river  achieved 
notoriety  in  connection  with  the  epidemic  of 
"  Commonweal  Armies "  that  disturbed  the 
public  that  year.  One  division,  mobilized  at 
San  Francisco  under  a  "  General "  Kelley, 
when  it  reached  Council  Bluffs  was  refused 
transportation  by  the  Iowa  railroads.  The 
horde  then  marched  overland,  levying  on  com- 
munities for  provisions,  reaching  Des  Moines 
Sunday  evening,  April  29th.  The  citizens,  in 
much  trepidation,  lodged  the  tramps  in  an 


318  Des  Moines 

abandoned  stove  factory.  The  people  were 
frantic  to  pass  them  along,  for  their  sojourn 
threatened  plague,  pilfering,  and  multitudinous 
evils.  But  the  tramps  refused  to  walk  farther. 
The  citizens  were  in  despair.  Finally  some 
genius  suggested  that  the  army  be  floated  down 
the  river.  The  "  General  "  agreed  to  evacuate 
the  stove  works  when  the  fleet  of  flatboats  was 
ready  to  launch.  On  May  gth,  amid  general 
rejoicing,  Kelley  and  his  army  floated  away. 
The  voyageurs  reached  the  Mississippi  only  to 
suffer  ignominious  discomfiture. 

In  ante-bellum  days  the  subject  of  slavery 
made  life  and  politics  keenly  interesting  in 
Des  Moines.  Many  stanch  Southerners  and 
not  a  few  abolitionists  generated  an  electrical 
atmosphere.  The  first  resident  Governor, 
James  W.  Grimes,  who  later  brought  Iowa 
fame  in  the  United  States  Senate,  spoke  out 
strongly  against  the  arrogance  of  the  slave- 
holders and  the  border  outrages.  The  city  was 
on  John  Brown's  "underground  railway,"  and 
the  spiriting  of  slaves  through  the  town  gave 
zest  to  public  discussion.  When  Brown  came 
through  with  the  slaves  he  had  captured  in 
Missouri  he  stopped  over  night,  February  16, 
1859,  with  James  C.  Jordan,  a  State  senator. 


Des  Moines 


319 


The  next  day  his  ferriage  was  paid  by  the  edi- 
tor of  the  State  Register,  John  Teesdale.  One 
of  Brown's  most  trusted  companions,  who  died 
by  his  side  when  Lieutenant  Robert  E.  Lee 
recaptured  Harper's  Ferry,  was  a  Des  Moines 

boy,    Jeremiah  

G.  Anderson, 
who  had  joined 
Brown's  forces 
in  Kansas  i  n 

1857- 

One  of  the 
most  dramatic 
incidents  in 
Iowa  history 
grew  out  of  the 
ill-fated  expedi- 
tion against 
Harper's  Ferry. 
With  Brown 

were  Edwin  and  Barclay  Coppoc,  of  Springdale 
la.,  the  Quaker  village  where  the  conspirators 
were  drilled.  Edwin  was  captured  and  hanged. 
Barclay  escaped  and  after  exciting  adventures 
in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  got  back  to 
Springdale,  where  the  entire  community  armed 
to  prevent  his  capture  by  the  Virginia  author- 


QOVERNOR  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD. 


32o  Des  Moines 

ities.  On  January  23,  1860,  an  agent  of  Gov- 
ernor Letcher,  of  Virginia,  called  on  Governor 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  with  a  requisition  for 
young  Coppoc.  Kirkwood  discovered  flaws  in 
the  papers,  among  them  that  no  indictment  had 
been  found  or  crime  charged,  and  he  refused 
to  honor  the  requisition.  The  agent  became 
excited.  Just  then  two  members  of  the  Assem- 
bly, Ed.  Wright  and  B.  F.  Gue,  came  into  the 
Governor's  room,  overheard  the  conversation 
with  the  agent,  and  discovered  his  object. 
They  left  and  immediately  dispatched  a  mes- 
senger to  Springdale  to  warn  Coppoc,  who  was 
hurried  off  to  Canada.  Slavery  sympathizers 
in  the  Legislature  soon  heard  of  the  matter 
and  introduced  a  resolution  calling  on  Kirk- 
wood for  an  explanation  of  his  proceedings. 
He  sent  in  a  ringing  message  in  which  he  said  : 

."  Permit  me  to  say  in  conclusion  that  one  of  the  most 
important  duties  of  the  official  position  I  hold  is  to  see 
that  no  citizen  of  Iowa  is  carried  beyond  her  border 
and  subjected  to  the  ignominy  of  imprisonment  and  the 
perils  of  trial  for  crimes  in  another  State  otherwise  than 
by  due  process  of  law.  That  duty  I  shall  perform.  .  .  " 

In  the  uncertain  days   preceding  the  Civil 
War,  when  the  friends  of  liberty  in  the  North 


Des  Moines  321 

were  timid,  Kirkwood's  message  had  the  effect 
of  a  tocsin  call. 

When  Sumter  was  fired  on  and  President 
Lincoln  called  for  troops,  Simon  Cameron,  Sec- 
retary of  War,  telegraphed  Kirkwood  that  one 
regiment  was  expected  from  Iowa.  The  Gov- 
ernor was  not  then  in  the  city.  The  messenger 
who  carried  the  telegram  from  Davenport  to 
Iowa  City  found  him  out  on  his  farm  working 
in  a  field.  On  reading  the  message  he  mus- 
ingly asked : 

"  Why,  the  President  wants  a  whole  regi- 
ment of  men !  Do  you  suppose  that  I  can 
raise  as  many  as  that  ?  " 

Within  a  few  days  ten  regiments  were  of- 
fered him.  Iowa  sent  nearly  79,000  men  to  the 
front,  who  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
great  struggle.  Des  Moines  contributed  her 
full  share ;  among  the  number  three  became 
generals,  one,  M.  M.  Crocker,  being  an  espe- 
cially brilliant  officer  under  Grant  in  the  cam- 
paigns in  the  West. 

The  history  of  the  Western  States  is  rife 
with  struggles  over  the  location  of  county  seats 
and  State  capitals,  the  incidents  of  which  are 
often  picturesque  and  exciting.  The  selection 
of  Des  Moines  as  the  capital  city  of  Iowa  was 


322  Des  Moines 

an  important  event  in  her  history.  Largely  in 
consequence  thereof  the  city  has  become  not 
only  the  metropolis  of  the  State  but  its  chief 
nerve  centre  too. 

Iowa's  first  territorial  capital  was  Burlington. 
From  1841  to  1857  it  was  at  Iowa  City,  when 
the  State  archives  were  moved  to  Des  Moines. 
The  change  was  not  made  without  a  spirited 
contest,  the  marks  of  which  are  seen  to-day  in 
the  State's  constitution.  For,  in  order  to  pla- 
cate the  people  of  Iowa  City  and  secure  per- 
manency for  the  arrangement,  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1857  inserted  the  provision  that 
the  State  University  should  forever  remain  at 
Iowa  City,  and  the  capital  at  Des  Moines,— 
a  piece  of  log-rolling  not  unlike  that  resorted 
to  by  Alexander  Hamilton  when  the  national 
capital  was  located  at  Washington.  There  was 
a  deal  of  politics  and  dissension  in  Des  Moines 
over  the  selection  of  the  site  of  the  capitol ;  so 
much  indeed  that  the  animosities  then  engen- 
dered exercise  a  baneful  influence  in  dividing 
the  city  even  now.  A  superb  site  was  chosen 
on  a  high  hill  in  East  Des  Moines  whence  one 
can  look  over  the  hills  and  dales  of  the  river 
valleys  for  miles  around.  The  first  capitol  was 
a  plain  three-story  brick  structure,  donated  by 


Des  Moines  323 

the  citizens  of  the  east  city  as  a  part  of  the  in- 
ducement to  the  commission  to  locate  where 
they  did.  After  the  Civil  War  the  building 
became  inadequate  ;  the  ravages  of  time  ren- 
dered it  unfit  for  a  repository  of  the  State's  pre- 
cious papers  ;  and  the  people  of  Des  Moines 
began  to  agitate  for  the  erection  of  a  capitol 
commensurate  with  the  needs  and  dignity  of 
the  State.  Thereupon  followed  a  contest 
whose  incidents  were  most  interesting  and 
instructive. 

The  urgent  need  of  a  new  capitol  was  gen- 
erally admitted.  But  the  justness  or  propriety 
of  a  measure  is  not  alone  sufficient  to  secure 
legislation.  The  jealousy  of  rival  towns  was 
fanned  into  fierce  opposition.  Their  represent- 
atives fought  an  appropriation  with  tooth  and 
nail.  Two  million  dollars  was  magnified  into 
unheard-of  proportions.  Time-serving  politi- 
cians who  admitted  privately  that  the  State 
needed  a  capitol  badly,  tore  passion  to  tatters 
in  portraying  the  poverty  and  distress  of  the 
taxpayers.  With  a  State  "  full  of  barefooted 
women  and  barefooted  children  "  they  assever- 
tated  such  an  expenditure  would  be  crim- 
inal. Such  "  politics"  long  prevailed.  In  1867, 
the  people  of  Des  Moines  elected  to  the  House 


324 


Des  Moines 


of  Representatives,  Hon.  John  A.  Kasson,  to 
conduct  the  fight  for  the  appropriation.  No 
better  man  could  have  been  chosen.  He  had 
attained  distinction  as  Assistant  Postmaster- 

General  un- 
der President 
Lincoln,  and 
as  a  member 
of  Congress. 
With  what 
tact,  patience 
and  diplomacy 
he  carried  on 
the  contest  his 
career  since  as 
our  country's 
envoy  to  the 
courts  of  Aus- 
tria and  Ger- 
many indicates. 
For  five  years 
Mr.  Kasson  struggled  with  recalcitrant  re- 
presentatives through  trying  vicissitudes  be- 
fore he  got  the  appropriation.  As  it  was, 
he  escaped  defeat  by  but  one  vote  to  spare, 
and  that  vote  he  would  have  lost  but  for  the 
timely  aid  of  a  Catholic  priest,  Father  Brazil, 


HON.  JOHN  A.    KASSON. 


326  Des  Moines 

of  the  city.  The  opposition  resorted  to  the 
rascally  ruse  of  getting  a  bibulous  member  who 
was  friendly  to  the  measure  dead  drunk  and 
locking  him  up  to  prevent  his  attendance  at 
the  time  of  the  vote.  On  being  informed  of 
the  trick,  Father  Brazil  sought  out  the  recreant 
son  of  Erin,  secured  him,  and  marched  him  up 
to  the  House  chamber  just  as  the  roll  was 
about  to  be  called,  and  sat  severely  by  until 
his  charge  had  answered  "Aye." 

It  took  twelve  years  to  build  the  capitol. 
During  practically  all  of  that  time  its  construc- 
tion was  under  the  absolute  control  of  three 
commissioners,  John  G.  Foote,  Peter  A.  Dey, 
and  Robert  S.  Finkbine,  and  the  stately  struc- 
ture that  now  adorns  Capitol  Hill  is  a  monu- 
ment to  their  intelligence  and  integrity.  Not 
an  unwise  expenditure  nor  a  dishonest  or  cor- 
rupt transaction  was  ever  charged  against  their 
stewardship,  and  the  people  of  Iowa  hold  their 
names  and  services  in  grateful  memory.  It  is 
a  sad  commentary  on  our  public  morals  that 
the  erection  of  a  State  capitol  without  suspi- 
cion of  corruption  is  so  exceptional  as  to  be 
noteworthy  and  the  proud  distinction  of  the 
people  of  this  Western  commonwealth. 

From  a  frontier  fort  and  a  huddle  of  huts, 


328  Des  Moines 

Des  Moines  has  grown  to  be  a  stately  city 
whose  corporate  limits  include  fifty-four  square 
miles  and  a  population  of  nearly  70,000,  almost 
double  the  population  of  any  other  city  in 
Iowa.  Her  citizens  boast  that  "  without  riots, 
booms,  or  conflagrations "  she  has  steadily 
grown  in  strength  and  stature.  Her  industries 
and  commerce  make  the  city  a  hive  of  activi- 
ties. Seventeen  railroads  radiate  from  Des 
Moines,  enabling  the  city  to  become  the  whole- 
sale and  retail  jobbing  centre  of  the  State. 
Sixty  miles  of  electric  street-railways  and  fifty- 
eight  miles  of  paved  streets  make  her  suburbs 
readily  accessible.  There  are  vast  deposits  of 
coal  and  clay  under  and  about  the  city.  The 
smoke  of  three  hundred  factories,  large  and 
small,  tinge  her  atmosphere  with  the  hues  of 
Pittsburg.  Among  insurance  men  the  city  is 
called  the  "  Hartford  of  the  West,"  as  fifty-one 
insurance  companies  have  their  headquarters  in 
Des  Moines  and  employ  five  thousand  people. 
In  her  various  colleges  and  schools  of  law,  med- 
icine, and  commercial  practice  there  is  a  popu- 
lation of  nearly  six  thousand.  Thousands  of 
visitors  annually  come  to  the  State  Agricultural 
Fair  and  to  the  political  and  educational  con- 
ventions that  assemble  in  the  city.  Congress 


Des  Moines  329 

has  recently  provided  for  the  establishment  of 
an  army  post  just  south  of  the  city  limits,  and 
the  War  Department  is  about  to  expend  sev- 
eral hundred  thousand  dollars  in  erecting  bar- 
racks and  in  the  preparation  of  drill-grounds 
for  troops. 

Few  cities  in  the  West  possess  scenery  of 
greater  natural  beauty  than  that  which  greets 
the  eye  in  and  about  Des  Moines.  The  junc- 
tion of  the  rivers  near  the  centre  of  the  city 
gives  her  topography  a  configuration  similar  to 
that  of  Pittsburg.  On  the  south  and  east 
her  limits  are  marked  by  a  range  of  wooded 
hills  through  which  the  silver  stream  of  the 
united  rivers  makes  its  way.  The  view  of  the 
landscape  across  the  river  valley  to  the  hori- 
zon's edge  which  is  visible  from  most  points  is 
particularly  pleasing  to  the  eye  in  the  spring 
and  summer  months.  The  main  part  of  the 
city  between  the  "  Forks  "  is  in  a  forest  of  native 
oaks,  elms,  and  hickories  so  dense  that  the 
looker  from  the  Capitol  dome  can  scarce  per- 
ceive the  residences.  To  the  attractions  of 
nature  the  landscape  gardener  and  architect 
have  added  much.  Nearly  five  hundred  acres 
of  parks  give  the  people  fine  pleasure  resorts 
in  the  hot  summer  months.  Many  handsome 


330 


Des  Moines 


wholesale  and  retail  houses  and  manufacturing 
establishments  grace  her  thoroughfares.  The 
city  has  nearly  completed  a  beautiful  Public 
Library,  located  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Des 
Moines  River,  and,  as  a  result  of  the  years 
of  devotion  and  unremitting  labors  of  Mr. 
Charles  Aldrich,  the  State  has  begun  the 
erection  of  the  Historical  Library,  which  will 
be  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of  Des  Moines. 


ST.  LOUIS 
"THE  FUTURE  GREAT" 

BY  WILLIAM  MARION   REEDY 

OITUATED  at  the  heart  of  the  continent, 
^  midway  between  the  East  and  West,  the 
North  and  South,  St.  Louis  is  a  unique  mix- 
ture of  the  characteristics  of  all  sections  of  the 
United  States.  In  the  early  seventies  a  weird 
character  named  L.  U.  Reavis  wrote  a  book 
called  6V.  Louis,  the  Future  Great  City  of  the 
West,  in  which  he  advocated  the  removal 
hither  of  the  seat  of  the  national  Government 
and  predicted  great  things  for  the  city. 
The  fourth  of  American  cities  in  population, 
St.  Louis  is  preparing  to  hold  a  World's  Fair 
in  commemoration  of  the  one  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  purchase  of  the  Louisiana  terri- 
tory, on  a  scale  of  magnificence  which  attracts 
universal  attention.  With  the  completion  of 

331 


332  St.  Louis 

the  Chicago  drainage  canal,  destined  soon  to 
be  a  ship  canal  connecting  Lake  Michigan  with 
the  Mississippi  River,  with  the  necessary  im- 
provement of  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  and 
with  the  certain  construction  of  an  Isthmian 
canal,  St.  Louis  is  sure  to  be  in  as  close  touch 
with  the  world  at  large  as  if  it  were  a  seacoast 
city.  Always  the  natural  commercial  centre  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  since  it  became  the  focus 
of  a  mighty  network  of  railroads  St.  Louis  has 
been  the  market  of  the  prosperous  West,  the 
new  South  and  the  great  Southwest,  with  its 
wealth  of  agriculture,  mining,  manufactures, 
and  its  almost  magic  development,  shown,  for 
instance,  in  the  fact  that  Texas  is  now  only 
a  few  thousand  behind  Missouri  in  population, 
and  must  in  consequence  of  the  recent  discover- 
ies of  enormous  oil  lands  soon  overtake  States 
like  Illinois  and  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania.  The 
prophecies  of  the  city's  greatness  are  coming 
to  realization.  Its  future  is  here,  but  bright 
as  the  future  is,  it  is  not  so  bright  as  to  allure 
us  into  forgetting  the  picturesque  past. 

The  old  town  on  the  Mississippi  has  ever 
been  modest  to  a  degree  that  has  caused  the 
thoughtless  to  make  mock  of  its  conservatism, 
but  the  steadiness  of  character  and  the  regard 


St.  Louis  333 

only  for  the  realities  of  progress  which  have 
marked  St.  Louis  have  their  justification  in 
that  they  have  resulted  in  a  city  known  in  times 
of  depression  and  panic  as  "  the  solid  city."  A 
city  that  owns  itself,  with  a  proper  sense  of 
dignity,  it  has  never  advertised  itself  in  the 
modern  meretricious  fashion.  And  so  the  story 
of  St.  Louis,  an  honest  tale,  will  speed  best 
being  simply  told. 

St.  Louis  was  founded  by  Pierre  Laclede 
Liguest  and  a  few  companions,  all  French 
voyageurs,  in  1764  ;  at  least  it  was  in  that  year 
that  Laclede's  lieutenant,  Auguste  Chouteau, 
cleared  away  the  site  of  the  present  city. 
Laclede  Liguest,  or,  as  he  is  sometimes  known, 
Liguest  Laclede,  a  merchant  of  New  Orleans, 
had  from  the  French  Government  a  monopoly 
of  the  fur  trade  in  the  Missouri  River  country. 
He  left  New  Orleans  with  his  family  and  a 
small  party  in  August,  1 763,  with  the  intention 
of  founding  a  town  near  the  confluence  of  the 
Missouri  and  Mississippi  rivers.  Shortly  after 
the  town  was  laid  out  occurred  the  cession  to 
Great  Britain  of  the  Illinois  country,  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  The  French  in- 
habitants of  that  country  having  followed  from 
the  north  in  the  wake  of  Marquette  in  1673, 


334  St.  Louis 

and  of  La  Salle  in  1678,  hated  the  English, 
and  began  to  move  over  to  the  new  town, 
which  soon  grew  into  importance.  A  trading 


COLONEL  AUQUSTE  CHOUTEAU,  ONE  OF  THE  FOUNDERS  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 

FROM    A    PAINTING   IN    MISSOURI    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTION. 

point  for  the  Indians,  Laclede  and  his  com- 
panions so  managed  them  that  there  was  none 
of  the  friction  which  marked  the  contact  else- 
where of  the  English  and  the  natives.  When 


St.  Louis  335 

the  laying  out  of  the  city  began  a  band  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  warriors,  with  their  squaws 
and  papooses,  outnumbering  the  whites  five  to 
one,  appeared  and  camped  near  the  strangers. 
The  Frenchmen  treated  the  savages  with  such 
tact  and  kindness  that  they  not  only  did  no 
harm,  but  even  of  their  own  volition  assisted 
in  the  work.  The  first  cellar  was  excavated 
with  the  aid  of  the  squaws,  who  carried  off  the 
clay  in  baskets,  and  were  paid  in  beads  and 
other  trinkets  which  Laclede  had  brought  up 
from  New  Orleans.  The  Indians  became  so 
friendly  that  they  were  a  hindrance  rather  than 
a  help,  and  finally,  to  induce  them  to  depart, 
Laclede  hinted  that  the  French  soldiers  at 
Fort  Chartres  were  to  be  summoned. 

Shortly  after  the  little  village  was  begun, 
news  came  that  the  territory  of  Louisiana  had 
been  ceded  to  Spain.  The  French  Governor, 
M.  d'Abadie,  who  announced  the  fact  to  the 
people  with  tears,  is  said  to  have  died  of  grief. 
St.  Ange  de  Bellerive  became  Commandant  or 
Governor-General  in  T  765,  instituted  a  govern- 
ment, and  demeaned  himself  in  such  manner 
generally  that  unto  this  day  he  is  remembered 
affectionately  in  every  published  history  of  the 
town.  The  first  two  grants  of  land  in  the 


336  St.  Louis 

village  were  made  to  Laclede  by  De  Bellerive, 
August  11,  1766.  The  Spaniards  do  not  ap- 
pear to  have  paid  much  attention  to  the  vil- 
lage of  St.  Louis,  for  there  was  some  doubt 
whether  De  Bellerive  had  any  authority  to 
make  grants.  Although  the  best  authorities 


THE  OLD  CHOUTEAU  MANSION  BUILT  FOR  LACLEDE  IN  1765- 

FROM    DAGUERREOTYPE  IN    MISSOURI    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTION. 

agree  that  De  Bellerive  acted  with  the  author- 
ity and  consent  of  the  Commandant-General 
of  New  Orleans,  it  seems  that  he  was  practi- 
cally elected  Governor  by  the  inhabitants.  It 
is  amusing  to  read  in  a  history  of  St.  Louis 
and  Missouri,  published  in  1870,  that  De  Belle- 
rive in  1776,  began  to  make  grants,  "hoping 
for  a  retrocession  of  the  country  to  France, 


St.  Louis  337 

when  the  grants  would  be  legalized  by  confir- 
mation." The  first  marriage  in  the  new  colony 
was  celebrated  April  20,  1 766,  the  contracting 
parties  being  Toussaint  Honen  and  Marie 
Baugenon.  The  first  mortgage  was  recorded 
September,  1766.  It  was  specified  that  pay- 
ment should  be  made  in  peltries,  though  no 
definite  value  was  attached  to  the  number  of 
deer  hides  to  be  delivered  by  Pierre  Berger  to 
Francis  Latour. 

August  11,  1767,  news  came  that  Spain  was 
making  ready  to  take  possession  of  the  country. 
The  transfer  had  been  made  by  secret  treaty  in 
1762.  The  people  accepted  the  situation  in  a 
sort  of  dumb  rage.  The  following  year  a 
body  of  troops  arrived  under  the  command  of 
a  man  named  Rios,  acting  under  the  authority 
of  Don  Antonio  d'Ulloa,  Governor  of  Louisi- 
ana. To  the  joy  of  the  inhabitants,  De  Belle- 
rive  was  not  disturbed  in  his  office,  and  the 
Spanish  troops  left  in  the  summer  of  1 769. 

It  was  the  great  distinction  of  De  Bellerive 
that  he  was  the  friend  of  Pontiac,  the  Ottawa 
chieftain,  and  about  the  time  of  the  departure 
of  the  Spaniards,  Pontiac  arrived  at  St.  Louis. 
He  represented  all  the  poetry  and  nobility,  the 
grandeur  and  genius  of  the  Indian  character. 


338  St.  Louis 

After  Red  Jacket,  he  was  the  greatest  Indian 
the  New  World  had  known.  Dreaming  of 
driving  the  English  into  the  sea  he  had  con- 
federated the  tribes  between  the  Allegheny  and 
the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio  and  the  Lakes  into  a 
league  against  them.  He  had  been  known 
and  beloved  by  the  gallant  but  unfortunate 
Montcalm  at  Quebec.  He  had  participated 
in  the  ambuscade  in  which  Braddock  with  his 
life  had  paid  the  penalty  of  narrow-mindedness, 
and  had  planned  the  massacre  of  Michilimack- 
inack,  in  which  more  than  two  thousand  of  the 
English  had  lost  their  lives.  The  French 
"loved  him  for  the  enemies  he  had  made,"  and 
he  was  "  fdted  and  caressed,"  says  an  early 
chronicler,  "  by  many  of  the  principal  inhabi- 
tants of  the  village."  St.  Ange  de  Bellerive 
entertained  the  warrior  at  the  house  of  Ma- 
dame Chouteau,  but  Pontiac  was  now  a  broken 
man.  His  dream  of  driving  back  the  English 
beyond  the  Cumberland  had  faded.  His  allies 
had  been  seduced  from  his  support  by  presents 
and  by  firewater.  He,  too,  had  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  fiery  liquor,  and  drink  was 
then  such  a  passion  with  him  that  De  Bellerive 
and  his  friends  not  only  endeavored  to  prevent 
the  sale  thereof  to  him  in  the  village,  but  tried 


St.  Louis  339 

to  dissuade  him  from  crossing  the  river  to 
Cahokia  in  response  to  the  invitations  of  certain 
of  his  friends  there.  Not  to  be  dissuaded,  Pon- 
tiac  crossed  the  river  in  the  uniform  of  a  French 
officer,  which  had  been  given  him  by  Mont- 
calm.  Wandering  on  the  outskirts  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Cahokia,  he  was  tomahawked  by  a 
Kaskaskia  Indian,  who  had  been  given  a  barrel 
of  whiskey  to  do  the  deed  by  an  English 
trader  named  Williamson.  His  friend  De  Bel- 
lerive  had  the  chief's  remains  brought  to  St. 
Louis,  and  they  were  buried  somewhere  in  the 
vicinityof  the  siteof  the  present  Southern  Hotel, 
in  the  corridor  of  which  was  placed,  in  1901,  a 
handsome  tablet  to  the  unfortunate  warrior's 
memory.  Whether  Pontiac  was  assassinated 
in  accordance  with  official  Eno-lish  instructions, 

o 

or  met  his  death  in  consequence  of  a  private 
grudge,  was  long  a  matter  of  dispute,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  passionate  and 
sympathetic  Frenchmen  believed  for  many 
long  years  that  the  chief  was  killed  to  relieve 
the  English  of  the  danger  of  his  presence 
and  a  possible  utilization  of  his  undoubted 
abilities  by  the  Power  in  possession  of  the 
west  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  Pontiac's 
death,  however,  was  promptly  avenged  upon 


340  St.  Louis 

the  Illinois   Indians  by  members  of  the  tribes 
with  which  he  had  been  in  alliance. 

Next  came  Don  Alexander  O'Reilly  to  take 
charge  of  the  territory  of  Louisiana.  He  ar- 
rived at  New  Orleans  at  the  head  of  three  thou- 
sand men  to  enforce  his  authority.  There  was 
need  for  the  soldiery,  for  though  seven  years 
had  elapsed  since  the  cession  of  the  territory, 
the  Spaniards  had  never  actually  taken  posses- 
sion. The  people  were  still  French  to  the  core. 
When  they  heard  that  Don  O'Reilly  was 
coming  they  even  conferred  together  upon  the 
advisability  of  meeting  him  with  force  and  pre- 
venting his  landing.  The  head  men  of  the 
town  counselled  against  this,  however,  and  their 
advice  prevailed,  but  such  was  the  spirit  of  in- 
subordination, so  many  were  the  execrations 
heaped  upon  the  Spaniards,  so  frequent  were 
the  threats  of  violence  against  them  that  Don 
Alexander  had  at  once  to  adopt  stern  meas- 
ures. He  promptly  arrested  a  dozen  of  the 
ringleaders,  had  five  of  them  publicly  shot,  and 
the  others,  except  one  who  committed  suicide, 
sent  as  prisoners  to  Cuba.  The  Spanish  code 
was  put  into  operation  throughout  the  territory, 
and  O'Reilly's  deputy,  Lieutenant-Governor 
Piernas,  arriving  in  St.  Louis  in  1770,  took  pos- 


St.  Louis 


session  of  St.  Louis,  with  the  help  of  De  Bel- 
lerive,  wisely  conciliating  the  villagers.  The 
village  settled  into  peace.  The  church,  for 
which  ground  had  been  set  aside  even  before 


OLD  FRENCH  POST-HOUSE.     BUILT  IN  1770.     INHABITED  UNTIL  1870. 

the  founders  of  the  town  had  prepared  to 
build  their  own  homes,  was.  dedicated,  June 
24,  1770,  with  solemn  ceremonies.  Where 
that  first  church  of  flattened  logs  set  on  end 
with  the  interstices  filled  with  mortar  stood, 
there  stands  a  church  to-day,  and,  says  Elihu 


342  St.  Louis 

Shepard,  since  that  time  "  the  worship  of  God 
on  that  block  has  not  been  suspended  for  a 
single  day."  All  De  Bellerive's  acts  were  for- 
mally confirmed  by  Piernas,  and  the  little 
settlement  forgot  its  woes  under  a  benign 
administration,  which  recognized  village  preju- 
dices, and  shut  its  eyes  to  the  loyalty  every- 
where apparent  to  France. 

Piernas  narrowly  escaped  assassination  at 
the  hands  of  an  Osage  chieftain  who  thought 
himself  insulted  at  a  meeting  at  the  Com- 
mandant's house.  The  Osage,  while  drinking 
with  other  Indians,  divulged  his  intention  to 
kill  the  Governor,  whereupon  a  Shawnee  war- 
rior stabbed  him  to  the  heart.  The  slain  chief 
was  buried  with  honors  in  the  big  mound  to 
the  north  of  the  village,  an  eminence  that  gave 
to  St.  Louis  for  many  years  the  name  of  "  The 
Mound  City." 

For  twelve  years  the  village  was  orderly  and 
quiet.  The  people  liked  the  Governor  who 
succeeded  Piernas,  but  the  next,  Don  Fer- 
nando de  Leyba, — "a  drunken,  avaricious,  and 
feeble-minded  man,  without  a  single  redeeming 
qualification,"  they  did  not  like.  He  came 
upon  the  scene  in  1778,  at  a  critical  time.  The 
American  Revolution  was  on.  The  French 


St.  Louis  343 

and  Spaniards,  hating  the  English,  were  in- 
clined to  sympathize  with  the  colonists,  so  far 
as  they  knew  or  cared  about  things  happening 
so  far  away.  Fearing  an  attack  of  English  and 
Indians,  the  villagers  threw  up  a  trench  and 
stockade  about  the  town,  having  three  gates  on 
the  sides  other  than  the  one  on  the  river,  and 
built  a  fort  in  the  centre  of  the  city  at  what  is 
now,  approximately,  Fourth  and  Walnut  streets, 
and  supplied  it  with  four  small  cannon  and  one 
company  of  soldiers.  The  people  were  afraid 
to  till  the  fields  outside  the  trench  and  stock- 
ade, and  the  men  who  might  have  braved 
attack  were  busy  building  the  defences.  In 
the  spring  of  1780  fears  of  a  famine  forced 
the  men  into  the  fields  to  plant  the  spring 
seeds. 

On  the  morning  of  May  26,  1780,  the  attack 
came.  It  was  led  by  Canadian-French  rene- 
gades, the  main  body  being  made  up  of  about 
one  thousand  Upper  Mississippi  Indians.  The 
attacking  party  came  from  the  north,  slew  forty 
of  the  workers,  carried  fifteen  up  the  river  as 
prisoners,  in  their  war  canoes,  while  the  rest 
made  their  way  back  to  the  fortifications,  amid 
the  booming  of  the  cannon,  which  saved  the 
fort.  Leyba,  who  was  drunk,  appeared  upon 


344  St.  Louis 

the  scene,  it  is  said,  sprawling  in  a  wheelbar- 
row and  muttering  incoherently,  after  the  In- 
dians had  been  repulsed.  He  died  a  month 
later,  covered  with  ignominy. 

The  succeeding  Lieutenant-Governor,  Fran- 
cisco Cruzat,  thoroughly  fortified  the  town, 
which  was  never  afterwards  molested  by  the 
savages.  While  the  more  extensive  fortifica- 
tions were  in  process  of  construction,  indeed  to 
the  peace  of  1783,  the  price  of  provisions  in 
St.  Louis  was  high,  and  visitors  from  New 
Orleans,  Ste.  Genevieve,  Cahokia,  Kaskaskia, 
and  other  settlements  nicknamed  the  place 
"Pain  Court"  or  "short  of  bread."  Still,  it  was 
a  time  of  prosperity.  The  town  grew,  and 
nothing  alarming  happened  until,  in  1 785,  when 
the  people  were  terrified  by  their  first  sight 
of  the  "June  rise"  of  the  Mississippi.  They 
saw  the  great  yellow  stream  spread  out  over 
the  American  Bottoms  on  the  east  bank  and 
the  Columbia  Bottom  on  the  west  bank  to  the 
north,  until  it  became  a  vast  lake  reaching  far- 
ther than  the  eye  could  distinctly  see.  They 
saw  the  mighty  flood  go  raging  past,  black  with 
the  trunks  of  mighty  trees  torn  up  by  the  wild 
waters,  the  villages  of  Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia 
submerged,  crops  ruined,  cattle  drowned,  and 


St.  Louis  345 

houses  melting  into  the  yellow  sea.  St.  Louis 
was  flooded  to  what  is  now  Main  Street,  and 
part  of  the  people  were  preparing  to  move  far- 
ther up  the  high  bank  that  ran  back  from  the 
stream,  when  the  waters  began  to  recede,  and 
the  anxiety  of  the  town  was  relieved.  The 
people  called  this  "  /' annte  des  grands  eaux" 
— "  the  year  of  the  great  waters."  There 
have  been  many  such  floods  since,  but  none 
more  awe-inspiring  than  this,  seen  in  a  setting 
of  virgin  wilderness.  The  flood  increased 
the  population  of  the  city,  however,  for  the 
settlers  in  the  bottoms  went  to  town  and 
joined  in  its  upbuilding.  In  those  days, 
notwithstanding  all  the  dangers  of  war  and 
flood,  St.  Louis  seems  to  have  been  a  gay 
place.  Society  was  simple,  yet  retaining  an 
indefinable  air  of  elegance  that  bore  the  flavor 
of  old  France.  Even  if  they  were  "short  of 
bread,"  the  people  were  hospitable,  a  trait  which 
still  persists  characteristic  and  conspicuous. 
The  French  element  has  almost  wholly  disap- 
peared in  newer  elements,  but  there  yet  lingers, 
somehow,  the  atmosphere  of  deliberate  ease 
among  the  people,  even  in  the  pressure  of  mod- 
ern business.  So  orderly  was  this  frontier 
town  that  during  the  entire  period  of  the 


346 


St.  Louis 


French    and    Spanish    dominations    but    one 
murder  was  reported. 

Following  the  annalists  we  learn  that  the 
city's  commerce  in  those  early  days  was  much 
hampered  by  a  band  of  pirates  that  infested  the 


OLD  MOUND,  ST.  LOUIS,  REMOVED  IN  1869. 

FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH    IN    MISSOURI    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY    COLLECTION. 

river  at  a  place  called  Grand  Tower,  midway 
between  the  mouths  of  the  Missouri  and  Ohio. 
Lurking  at  this  point,  where  the  stream  is  very 
swift,  the  pirates  would  dart  out  and  attack  the 
boats  plying  between  New  Orleans  and  St. 
Louis,  kill  the  boatmen  and  seize  the  goods. 


St.  Louis  347 

They  secured  rich  spoil  of  hides  from  the  down 
trade,  and  many  luxurious  articles  from  the  up 
trade  —  treasures  even  from  distant  France. 
One  voyageur  north  bound  escaped  the  pirates 
through  the  strategy  and  courage  of  a  negro 
who  won  the  confidence  of  the  captors  of  the 
barge  and  the  sympathy  of  two  negro  slaves  of 
the  pirates.  At  a  signal  the  negroes  hurled 
the  buccaneers  off  the  barge,  and  either  shot 
them  or  left  them  to  drown.  The  barge  crew 
then  took  the  boat  once  more,  went  back  to  New 
Orleans,  and  told  their  story  to  the  Governor, 
who  issued  an  order  that  all  boats  leaving  for 
St.  Louis  should  go  in  company.  In  obedience 
in  the  spring  of  i  788  ten  barges  started  up  the 
river  with  crews  well  armed.  Arrived  at  the 
rendezvous  of  the  robbers  they  found  none, 
but  they  recovered,  however,  much  of  the 
plunder  that  had  been  stored  away  and  brought 
it  to  St.  Louis.  The  year  of  their  arrival  was 
known  for  generations  as  "  Tann^e  des  dix 
bateaux" — "  the  year  of  the  ten  boats." 

St.  Louis  traded  not  only  with  New  Orleans 
but  with  Canada  as  well.  The  Indians  gave  no 
trouble  up  stream  or  down.  The  Spanish  Gov- 
ernment wanted  settlers,  and  was  liberal  in 
granting  land.  We  read  that  "  there  were  no 


348  St.  Louis 

mails  or  taverns,  but  every  house  was  a  welcome 
house  to  new  comers."  In  1 798  the  population 
of  Upper  Louisiana  was  6028,  of  whom  1080 
were  colored.  The  population  had  risen  in  1 804 
to  10,340.  In  1803  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was 
made,  and  in  1804  St.  Louis  "  contained  one 
hundred  and  eighty  houses  built  of  hewn  logs 
and  stone,  the  latter  being  generally  the  rendez- 
vous of  the  most  wealthy,  and  surrounded  by  a 
wall  of  the  same  material,  enclosing  the  whole 
block,  which  continued  in  use  many  years,  pro- 
tecting the  fine  fruit  trees,  which  shaded  the 
mansion."  Frame  houses  became  fashionable 
after  the  transfer  to  the  United  States. 
"  There  were  but  one  bakery,  two  small  taverns, 
three  blacksmiths,  two  mills,  and  one  doctor  in 
the  town."  Coffee  and  sugar  were  $2.00  per 
pound,  and  everything  else  was  costly  in  pro- 
portion. The  United  States  took  possession 
March  10,  1804,  when  Major  Amos  Stoddard 
assumed  the  duties  of  Governor  of  Upper 
Louisiana.  Then  history  began  to  make 
quickly. 

Near  St.  Louis,  Lewis  and  Clark  organized 
their  expedition  via  the  Missouri  and  Colum- 
bia rivers  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  departing  in  May, 
1804.  1°  August  Lieutenant  Zebulon  Pike 


St.  Louis  349 

started  to  explore  the  Mississippi  to  its  source. 
The  Mississippi  was  opened  up  to  free  naviga- 
tion. General  William  Henry  Harrison  came 
from  Indiana  to  preside  over  the  district.  He 
was  succeeded  by  General  James  Wilkinson, 
and  the  region  formerlyknown  as  the  District  of 
Louisiana  became  known  as  the  Territory  of 
Louisiana.  Later  a  strangely  handsome,  dark, 
romantic  man,  much  honored  by  every  one  and 
indescribably  fascinating  in  manner,  visited  the 
town  and  was  feted.  He  was  entertained  by 
General  Wilkinson,  through  whom  it  is  be- 
lieved the  authorities  at  Washington  first 
learned  of  that  vast,  vague  treason  which 
Burr — for  it  was  he — conceived  in  his  restless 
brain.  Wilkinson  was  later  appointed  to 
watch  Burr  and  was  succeeded  as  Governor  by 
Captain  Meriwether  Lewis,  fresh  from  his  ad- 
ventures in  the  mysterious  Northwest.  A 
ferry  had  been  established  in  1797,  and  at  the 
same  spot  there  is  to-day  a  ferry  operating, 
one  of  the  most  profitable  of  the  vested  inter- 
ests of  St.  Louis.  The  post-office  was  estab- 
lished in  1804.  In  1810  the  population  was 
fourteen  thousand.  In  1808  was  founded  the 
first  newspaper,  which  exists  to-day  as  the  St. 
Louis  Republic,  a  daring  enterprise  begun 


35°  St.  Louis 

when  the  whole  country  was  suffering  from  the 
embargo  and  non-intercourse  with  England. 
The  great  New  Madrid  earthquake  shook 
the  little  city  in  1811.  The  battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe  had  been  fought  a  little  before  the 
earthquake,  and  in  the  same  year  appeared 
the  first  steamboat  in  Western  waters.  In 
1813  the  Territory  of  Louisiana  became  the 
Territory  of  Missouri,  and  in  June  of  that  year 
the  Bank  of  St.  Louis  was  founded.  The  year 
before  that  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  had 
gathered  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis  the  chiefs  of 
the  Great  and  Little  Osages,  the  Sacs,  Foxes, 
Delawares,  and  Shawnees,  made  peace  with 
them,  then  conducted  them  to  Washington,  ar- 
riving there  just  before  the  declaration  of  war 
against  Great  Britain,  in  time  to  conclude  a 
peace  which  saved  the  country  from  any  such 
conspiracy  as  had  been  formed  among  the 
Indian  tribes  to  the  east,  under  the  leadership 
of  the  great  Tecumseh. 

Being  a  frontier  town,  St.  Louis  was  of 
course  a  resort  for  trappers  and  traders  but, 
unlike  the  frontier  towns  of  to-day,  not  for 
desperadoes.  The  early  settlers  seem  to  have 
stamped  upon  the  place  its  distinctive  quality 
of  quietness.  Here  the  North  American  Fur 


St.  Louis  351 

Company  had  its  headquarters  for  a  long  time, 
and  from  this  point  the  adventurous  subor- 
dinates of  John  Jacob  Astor  went  forth  in  all 
directions  in  search  of  peltries.  One  of  these, 
a  Colonel  Russell  Farnum,  leaving  St.  Louis 
afoot  reached  BehringStrait  in  1813- 14, crossed 
over  the  ice,  traversed  Siberia  and,  arriving  at 
St.  Petersburg,  was  presented  to  the  Emperor. 
This  memorable  journey  was  the  wonder  of 
Europe  at  the  time,  for  Farnum  went  from  St. 
Petersburg  to  Paris  and  then  came  home  by 
way  of  New  York.  He  wrote  a  record  of 
his  adventures  and  sent  it  to  a  New  York 
publisher  but  it  was  lost  and  the  writer 
died  before  he  could  again  transcribe  his 
narrative. 

The  War  of  1812  with  Great  Britain  fora 
time  was  of  small  concern  to  St.  Louis.  Later, 
however,  the  Indians  of  Missouri  were  armed 
by  the  people  and  pitted  against  the  Indians 
employed  by  the  British.  The  trading-posts 
in  which  St.  Louis  was  interested  extended 
twelve  hundred  miles  to  the  north  and  there 
agents  from  St.  Louis  counter-plotted  against 
the  British.  The  Yanktons  and  Omahas  were 
matched  by  the  Americans  against  the  lowas 
and  several  battles  were  fought  in  which  the 


35 2  St.  Louis 

British-bought  savages  were  worsted.  The 
war  coming  to  an  end,  Indian  hostilities  ceased 
and  the  fur  trade  throve  under  the  peace. 
Rivals  to  the  American  Fur  Company  were 
started.  The  business  expanded,  and  soon  the 
necessities  of  commercial  intercourse  led  to  the 
organization  of  two  banks,  the  second  of  which, 
known  as  the  Bank  of  Missouri,  was  organized 
February  i,  1817.  Inflation  was  the  order  of 
the  day.  The  town  took  on  airs  of  magnifi- 
cence and  extravagance.  Wealth  accumu- 
lated so  rapidly  that  some  seemed  at  a  loss  to 
spend  it,  and  gave  entertainments  in  which  the 
tasteful  and  the  barbaric  were  strangely  min- 
gled. The  United  States  held  sales  of  public 
lands  and  there  were  "  rushes  "  such  as  we 
have  seen  in  recent  years  in  Oklahoma.  Build- 
ing was  undertaken  in  a  lordly  fashion  and 
extravagant  prices  were  asked  for  everything. 
The  demand  for  money  was  so  great  that  re- 
course was  had  to  lotteries  to  raise  funds  for 
an  academy  at  Potosi,  to  provide  fire-engines 
for  the  city,  to  erect  a  Masonic  Hall.  The 
lotteries  soon  got  into  politics  and  were  not 
dislodged  until  late  in  the  seventies,  after  a 
fight  not  unlike  that  waged  for  many  years  in 
Louisiana.  It  was  in  1817  that  the  Legislature 


St.  Louis  353 

of  Missouri  established  the  public-school  sys- 
tem and  incorporated  the  institution  which 
persists  to-day  in  the  St.  Louis  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, though  it  was  many  years  before  there 
was  a  public  school  in  the  city.  In  the  same 
year,  in  St.  Louis,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  after- 
wards United  States  Senator  from  Missouri  for 
thirty  years,  leaped  into  notice,  engaged  in  a 
quarrel  with  Charles  Lucas,  United  States 
Attorney  for  the  Territory  of  Missouri,  and  in 
a  duel  across  the  river,  or  rather  on  an  island 
in  the  river  that  has  since  become  joined  to 
the  Illinois  shore,  killed  him.  The  place 
where  the  duel  was  fought  became  the  rendez- 
vous for  duellists  and  was  called  "  Bloody 
Island."  In  1817  the  first  Bible  Society  in  the 
Territory  of  Missouri  was  formed.  The  infla- 
tion of  the  day  ended  as  usual  in  collapse, 
but  St.  Louis  and  Missouri  suffered  less  harm 
than  other  sections. 

When,  in  1818,  the  Territory  of  Missouri 
applied  for  admission  to  the  Union  the  slavery 
question  arose.  There  was  a  slight  prepon- 
derance of  sentiment  in  favor  of  slavery,  but 
very  slight.  The  Missouri  Compromise  left 
its  mark  on  Missouri  and  St.  Louis.  The 
State  was  always  regarded,  however  its  repre- 


354  St.  Louis 

sentatives  stood,  as  doubtful  on  the  slavery 
issue.  From  1820  to  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  War  it  was  always  a  compromise  State 
and  in  that  war  it  was  ever  between  two  fires, 
furnishing  soldiers  in  startling  abundance  to 
each  side  and  sympathizing  with  both.  St. 
Louis  suffered  in  that  long  drawn  out  situa- 
tion. A  paralyzing  incertitude  was  bred  in  the 
city's  mind,  even  toward  progress.  The  peo- 
ple, especially  the  French,  did  not  take  kindly  to 
steamboats.  "  When  Missouri  was  admitted 
to  the  Union,"  says  Elihu  Shepard,  "there 
was  no  steamboat  owned  in  the  State  and  but 
one  steam  mill."  The  assessed  valuation  of 
the  town  property  was  less  than  $1,000,000 
and  the  whole  corporation  tax  less  than  $4000 
per  year  while  Missouri  remained  a  territory. 
The  town  contained  six  hundred  houses,  one 
third  of  which  were  of  stone  or  brick,  the 
remainder  wooden,  one  half  of  which  were 
framed.  The  population  was  estimated  at 
five  thousand,  one  fourth  of  whom  were 
French.  The  estimated  annual  value  of  the 
trade  was  $600,000.  Steamboats  from  the 
Ohio  River  took  the  carrying  trade  between 
St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans,  and  the  imports 
were  estimated  at  $1,000,000.  All  these  con- 


St.  Louis  355 

ditions,  while  due  in  some  measure  to  the  ex- 
treme conservatism  and  self-satisfaction  of  the 
dominant  French  element,  were  undoubtedly 
due  in  larger  measure  to  the  hard  times  that 
prevailed  when  Missouri  became  a  State.  St. 
Louis  was  incorporated  as  a  city  December  9, 
1822.  A  spice  of  adventure  always  entered 
into  the  then  predominant  business  of  the 
community,  for  the  fur  companies  fought  with 
each  other,  and  all  of  them  made  common 
cause  against  the  great  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany in  the  North,  with  its  headquarters  in 
Canada.  The  people  of  that  time  thought 
little  of  distances  which  even  now  seem  great. 
Traders  and  trappers  went  without  hesitation 
through  the  wilderness  to  the  very  surf  of 
the  Pacific  and  the  people  of  the  city  never 
dreamed  that  what  we  now  call  Yellowstone 
Park  was  very  far  away.  Often  enough  the 
adventurous  commercial  traveller  who  left  St. 
Louis  came  back  without  his  scalp  or  never 
came  at  all.  The  city  was  picturesque.  Men 
clad  in  buckskin  and  carrying  rifles  in  their 
hands  elbowed  representatives  of  first  families 
attired  in  the  fashion  that  came  from  Paris,  via 
New  Orleans,  or  consorted  with  red  Indians  in 
paint  and  feathers — and  too  often,  too,  in 


356  St.  Louis 

liquor.  St.  Louis  and  Missouri  were  "  big  " 
in  politics  about  that  time.  Missouri  was  for 
Clay,  but  Missouri's  representative  did  not 
vote  for  him  and  John  Quincy  Adams  was 
chosen  President.  After  this  Missouri  be- 
came a  Jackson  State,  and  committed  her- 
self to  the  South. 

A  patch  of  color  in  the  drab  details  of  the 
history  of  St.  Louis  for  the  few  years  after  the 
incorporation  was  the  visit  of  Lafayette  to 
the  city  on  April  29,  1825,  and  his  sumptuous 
entertainment  by  the  enthusiastic  inhabitants, 
most  of  whom,  probably,  loved  the  Frenchman 
more  than  the  friend  of  Washington.  In  June, 
1825,  the  first  Presbyterian  church  was  conse- 
crated by  Rev.  Solomon  Giddings,  who  "  had  a 
very  respectable  congregation  "  for  a  city  which 
was  preponderantly  French  and  Roman  Cath- 
olic. The  French  language  was  spoken  in  the 
homes  of  half  the  families  of  the  town.  There 
were  less  than  a  dozen  German  families  in  a 
city  which  now  is  more  distinctly  Teutonic  than 
any  other  in  the  country,  except  Milwaukee. 
The  slavery  issue  was  all  the  while  growing, 
and  in  1828  there  was  formed  at  St.  Louis  a 
branch  of  the  American  Colonization  Society, 
the  purpose  of  which  was  to  further  the  settle- 


St.  Louis  357 

ment  of  free  blacks  in  Liberia.  Many  of  the 
largest  slave-owners  in  the  city  and  State  were 
members  and  officers  of  the  society.  Between 
1820  and  1831,  a  progressive  movement 
started.  The  new  Court  House  was  dedicated 
in  1829,  and  the  work  of  opening  and  paving 
streets  was  pushed  with  energy.  The  old 
French  families  resented  the  new  life  and 
moved  into  the  country.  The  pace  was  too 
fast  for  them.  The  hunters,  trappers,  voya- 
geztrs  and  bargemen  began  to  disappear. 
The  city  took  on  a  truly  American  aspect, 
but  the  increase  of  population  was  slow. 
Between  1820  and  1830,  the  population  in- 
creased only  2000,  but  between  1830  and 
1840  the  increase  was  nearly  10,000,  reaching 
the  total  of  16,649. 

Gradually  Americanism  made  its  impress. 
The  wharf  was  lined  with  steamboats  and  the 
levee  with  great  stores.  Steam  ferryboats 
multiplied.  The  city  became  a  great  river 
town,  second  in  importance  only  to  New  Or- 
leans. The  lead  mines  to  the  south  of  the 
city  were  productive.  Manufactures  of  vari- 
ous sorts  sprang  up.  An  insurance  company 
was  incorporated.  Prosperity  was  checked 
by  fear  of  the  great  Black  Hawk,  who,  at  the 


358  St.  Louis 

head  of  the  Sac  and   Fox  Indians,  took  the 
war-path  in   Illinois.      Immigration  and  trans- 
portation of  goods  to  and  from  the  North  was 
checked    till   Black    Hawk  was   defeated  and 
his  tribe  transported  to  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  where    the    influence    of    Great  Britain 
could  not  reach  them.      No  sooner,  however, 
had  the  city  recovered  from  its    slight  panic 
than  there  came  another   and  graver   excite- 
ment,   another    lull    in    business.       Jackson's 
bank  veto  was  the  cause.      As  if  this  were  not 
enough    to  discourage  the  community,  along 
came   the    cholera,    which    in    five   weeks  de- 
stroyed   four    per    cent,    of    the    population. 
Cholera  has    reappeared   since,  from  time  to 
time,  the  most  serious  visitation  being  in  1866, 
but  the  city  as  it  grew  began  to  pay  attention 
to  the  sewage  question  and  in  half  a  century 
had  perfected  such  a  sewer  system  as  is  not  sur- 
passed in  any  city  in  the  world.      In   1835  the 
City  Council  sold  the  town  Commons,  a  tract 
of   about   two   thousand   acres,    and    devoted 
nine  tenths  of  the  proceeds  to  street  improve- 
ments  and    one  tenth  to  the    public  schools, 
and  from  this  small  beginning  arose  the  sys- 
tem which  to-day  directs  the  education  of  the 
children  of  a  city  of  575,000  inhabitants.      In 


360  St.  Louis 

1829  the  St.  Louis  University,  a  Jesuit  in- 
stitution, was  founded,  which  has  been  since 
a  centre  of  higher  education  for  the  sons  of 
the  well-to-do  Roman  Catholics  of  the  entire 
South  and  Southwest.  Considerably  later 
was  founded  the  institution  now  Washington 
University,  one  of  the  best  endowed  educa- 
tional establishments  in  the  country,  with  a 
manual  training  department  famous  the  world 
over,  and  with  its  Mary  Institute  for  girls 
ranking  with  the  best  seminaries  of  the  coun- 
try. At  an  early  day  the  Roman  Catholic 
religious  sisterhoods  of  chanty  and  instruction 
established  branches  here.  The  Sisters  of 
Charity  founded  a  hospital  in  1832,  aided  by 
the  liberality  of  John  Mullanphy,  which  has 
been  in  continuous  service  ever  since.  The 
Sisters  of  the  Visitation  came  later  and  estab- 
lished their  convent  for  the  higher  education 
of  girls  and  did  for  the  girls  of  the  West  and 
South  what  the  St.  Louis  University  did  for 
the  boys.  Still  later  came  the  establishment 
of  medical  colleges,  one  in  connection  with 
the  St.  Louis  University,  and  later  the  insti- 
tutions founded  by  McDowell  and  Pope,  from 
which  grew  the  swarm  of  large  medical  and 
surgical  colleges  which  now  make  St.  Louis 


St.  Louis  361 

one  of  the  most  important  centres  of  medical 
education  in  the  land. 

Events  moved  rapidly  after  1835.  The 
growth  of  river  traffic  was  steady.  The  drift 
of  emigration  westward  was  beneficial  to  St. 
Louis  in  every  way.  Men  and  money  flowed 
in  from  the  East  and  the  South.  There  were 
rumors  of  railroads,  and,  in  April,  1835,  a  con- 
vention was  held  by  representatives  of  eleven 
of  the  most  populous  counties  of  the  State  to 
take  steps  to  induce  the  construction  of  rail- 
roads in  the  State  and  to  and  from  the  city. 
The  modern  spirit  manifested  itself  in  every 
direction,  and  the  year  1836  found  the  people 
regarding  St.  Louis  as  a  metropolis,  though  in 
that  year  occurred  an  incident  demonstrating 
that  the  taint  of  barbarism  lingered  to  some 
extent  among  the  people.  A  negro  who  had 
stabbed  a  constable  was  seized  by  a  mob  and 
tied  to  a  tree  and  burned  to  death,  amid  a 
chorus  of  execrations, — an  episode  only  too 
frequently  duplicated  in  different  sections  of  the 
country  of  late  years.  At  this  time  St.  Louis 
had  15,000  inhabitants,  but  it  was  not  till  the 
year  following  that  a  theatre  was  known.  In 
the  same  year  a  brick  fire-engine  house  was 
built,  and  leading  citizens  were  proud  to  be 


362  St.  Louis 

members  of  the  company  and    "  run  with  the 
machine." 

St.  Louis  was  much  interested  in  the  Texan 
war  of  independence,  and  from  its  stores  sup- 
plies went  to  the  followers  of  Houston,  while 
many  of  the  younger  men  of  the  community 
left  to  join  the  Lone  Star  warriors  in  their  strug- 
gle. Later,  when  the  war  with  Mexico  began, 
there  were  multiplied  activities  in  the  city, 
because  the  Government  here  outfitted  many 
of  its  troops.  Here  next  were  heard  the  first 
mutterings  of  the  storm  that  broke  in  1861. 
Elijah  P.  Lovejoy,  anti-slavery  in  sentiment, 
edited  the  6V.  Louis  Observer.  On  the  night 
of  July  21,  1836,  persons  unknown  broke  into 
the  publishing  room  and  wrecked  the  establish- 
ment, scattering  the  type  into  the  street.  No 
one  was  punished  for  the  offence.  Lovejoy 
went  to  Alton,  where  later  he  was  slain  by  fan- 
atical opponents  of  his  abolitionism,  who  un- 
wittingly wrote  his  name  high  on  the  list  of 
the  martyrs  to  freedom.  St.  Louis  had  its  first 
daily  mail  September  20,  1836,  and  on  the 
same  day  the  Missouri  Republican  commenced 
the  publication  of  a  regular  daily  edition.  In 
1837  Daniel  Webster  was  banqueted,  and  it 
was  estimated  that  there  were  more  guests  at 


St.  Louis  363 

the  banquet  than  there  were  inhabitants  of  the 
city  when  Lafayette  was  feted  twelve  years 
before. 

Following  in  quick  succession,  events  too 
numerous  to  be  recapitulated  marked  the  his- 
tory of  the  town.  In  spite  of  floods  and  chol- 
era and  a  great  fire,  which  swept  away  the 
business  portion  of  the  city,  the  community 
went  steadily  ahead.  The  gold-fever  helped 
St.  Louis,  for  the  Argonauts  going  overland 
outfitted  here,  as  in  very  recent  years  their 
fellows  bound  for  the  Klondike  and  Cape  Nome 
outfitted  at  Seattle.  As  the  West  built  up  St. 
Louis  builded  too.  Something  substantial  from 
the  westward-moving  stream  always  found  its 
way  into  the  coffers  of  the  St.  Louis  merchants. 
The  prosperity  and  power  of  the  South  lent 
prestige  to  the  city.  The  city  was  a  great  cot- 
ton market.  It  had  a  vast  trade  up  and  down 
the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers,  up  and 
down  the  Ohio  and  the  Tennessee.  The  fleets 
of  steamboats  at  the  wharves  grew  in  size,  until, 
old  inhabitants  say,  there  were  three  or  four 
miles  of  them  at  the  river  front  at  one  time, 
being  loaded  and  unloaded  day  and  night  by 
singing  negroes.  As  agriculture  grew  in  import- 
ance, St.  Louis  became  a  great  wheat  market, 


364  St.  Louis 

a  great  market  for  cattle  and  swine,  horses  and 
mules.  Its  manufactures  in  every  line  throve, 
as  well  they  might,  for  it  was  the  great  depot 
of  the  West,  with  a  straightaway  water  route  to 
the  sea.  There  was  plenty  of  work,  plenty 
of  money,  and  more  than  plenty  of  pleasure. 
The  society  of  St.  Louis  was  exclusive  and 
magnificent.  The  ante-bellum  balls  were  gor- 
geous affairs.  The  women  were  beautiful,  of 
the  Southern  type,  and  when  it  was  desired  to 
say  of  one  of  them  that  she  was  royally  bejew- 
elled, a  common  phrase  used  was  "  She  wore 
a  nigger  on  every  finger."  Steamboatmen, 
planters,  slave-traders,  merchants  dealing  in 
cotton  or  in  sugar,  spent  money  like  wate/". 
The  town  was,  as  we  say  in  these  days,  wide 
open,  and  of  a  perilous  liveliness,  for  the  incom- 
ing Northerners  and  Easterners  were  never 
equal  to  the  task  of  suppressing  what  the  New 
England  American  regards  as  vices  not  to  be 
temporized  with.  The  brightness  and  gayety, 
however,  did  not  wholly  conceal  the  dread  of 
the  sorrow  that  was  to  come.  St.  Louis  was, 
for  the  most  part,  intensely  Southern  ;  but  the 
Revolution  of  1848  had  brought  to  this  country 
and  to  St.  Louis  a  great  number  of  Germans, 
who  were  set  against  slavery  and  secession. 


366  St.  Louis 

The  storm  broke,  and  the  breaking  was  a  severe 
setback  to  St.  Louis,  whose  prosperity  was 
founded  chiefly  on  that  of  the  South.  Its 
sympathies,  through  social,  political,  busi- 
ness ties,  were  mainly  with  the  South.  The 
war  destroyed  business.  St.  Louis,  if  not  the 
enemy's  country,  was  strongly  suspected  of  dis- 
loyalty, and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  war  would 
smite  the  city  itself,  while  there  hung  in  the 
balance  the  decision  of  the  alternative  of  Gov- 
ernor Claiborne  Jackson  of  Missouri  that  he 
would  "take  Missouri  out  of  the  Union  or  into 
hell."  Feeling  ran  high  in  the  community. 
Almost  a  battle  was  fought  on  its  outskirts. 
St.  Louis  had  bitter  experiences  of  martial  law, 
while  its  commercial  activities  seemed  to  be 
mostly  controlled  by  people  who  had  govern- 
ment contracts.  Here,  where  Grant  had  been 
known  as  a  none  too  tidy  farmer,  his  name  was 
loathed,  as  was  Lincoln's,  by  the  larger  element, 
while  the  Germans  were  profoundly  loyal. 
The  misfortunes  of  the  South  were  unfortunate 
for  St.  Louis  in  every  instance,  and  when  the 
scourge  of  war  passed,  the  region  whence 
St.  Louis  had  drawn  most  of  its  wealth  was 
devastated,  and  the  sceptre  of  trade  passed 
to  the  North.  As  the  fortunes  of  St.  Louis 


368  St.  Louis 

declined  from  these  causes,  they  and  other 
causes  operated  to  push  Chicago  to  the  front, 
even  though,  when  Chicago  had  been  twice 
visited  by  fire,  St.  Louis,  as  the  greater  city, 
made  large  contributions  to  the  relief  of  the 
sufferers.  St.  Louis  did  not  go  backward,  but 
the  country  to  the  north  recovered  from  the 
war  and  improved  more  rapidly  than  that  to 
the  south  and  southwest,  and  the  northern  and 
western  trade  went  to  Chicago.  St.  Louis 
managed,  in  the  face  of  such  obstacles,  to  hold 
its  own.  The  work  of  expansion  and  exten- 
sion of  improvement  went  steadily  ahead, 
though  with  great  conservatism.  The 
boom  idea,  that  grew  after  the  war,  was 
never  hospitably  entertained  in  St.  Louis, 
though  the  manufacturers  and  merchants  found 
a  new  trade  and  strenuously  developed  it  in 
the  new  Southwest.  The  southwestern  rail- 
way systems  began  to  take  shape,  and  the  pros- 
perity of  St.  Louis  came  back  in  great  measure 
late  in  the  eighties.  The  great  St.  Louis 
bridge  had  been  opened  in  1874,  and  the  city 
was  put  in  touch  with  the  East,  but  the  greater 
movement  of  the  country's  wealth  and  energy 
was  being  felt  in  the  territory  that  was  out  of 
trade  touch  and  political  sympathy  with  the 


St.  Louis 


369 


field  in  which  St.  Louis  was  once  supreme. 
Nevertheless  St.  Louis  added  to  her  beauties 
steadily.  She  acquired  Forest  Park,  the  great- 
est natural  public  city  park  in  the  country, 
after  Fairmount  in  Philadelphia,  also  O'Fallon 


FOREST  PARK,  ST.  LOUIS. 


Park,  but  little  less  magnificent.  Through  the 
philanthropic  generosity  of  Henry  Shaw  she 
acquired  Tower  Grove  Park,  which  is  perhaps 
the  finest  specimen  of  the  park  artificial 
to  be  found  anywhere.  Later,  Mr.  Shaw  left 
to  the  city  by  will  his  botanical  garden,  an 


370  St.  Louis 

institution  famous  the  world  over  for  its  collec- 
tion of  plants  of  almost  every  species.  The 
city  paved  all  its  downtown  streets  with  gran- 
ite, and  later  its  outlying  streets  with  asphalt, 
erected  a  new  custom  house,  a  Four  Courts 
Building,  stupendous  water-works,  and  con- 
structed a  gigantic  extension  of  the  sewer  sys- 
tem. The  development  of  the  system  of  street- 
railway  transportation  in  St.  Louis  was  more 
rapid  and  more  perfect  than  in  any  other  city 
in  the  world.  A  new  mercantile  library  was 
built  and  the  public-school  library  was  made 
free.  Churches  increased  in  great  numbers. 
Schools  multiplied  and  were  overcrowded  in 
places  where  within  twenty  years  had  been 
quarry  ponds  and  cow  pastures.  The  growth 
of  business,  the  multiplication  of  banks,  the 
overspreading  of  the  population  since  1880, 
has  been  bewildering  in  its  progress,  and  re- 
mains so,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  has  been 
all  this  time  in  process  of  building,  directly 
across  the  river,  a  sort  of  overflow  city  of  sixty 
thousand  people.  The  city  lost  its  river  trade 
but  has  made  up  for  it  in  utilization  of  the  rail- 
roads, and  is  now  preparing  again  to  use  the 
mighty,  free,  natural  highway  for  the  transpor- 
tation of  products  to  the  world  at  large.  St. 


372  St.  Louis 

Louis,  so  often  thought  of  as  slow,  has  really 
grown  with  phenomenal  rapidity.  It  is  one  of 
the  wealthiest  cities  in  the  country,  a  city  of 
homes,  and  a  city  of  perhaps  more  beautiful 
homes  widely  distributed  in  different  sections 
than  are  to  be  found  elsewhere.  The  wealthy 
men  of  St.  Louis  are  almost  all  young  men. 
The  greater  fortunes  in  St.  Louis,  with  but  few 
exceptions,  have  been  made  within  the  past 
twenty  years,  and  many  of  them  in  the  last  ten 
years,  and  these  now  utterly  eclipse  the  for- 
tunes that  have  been  handed  down  from  the 
earlier  days.  The  city  has  to-day  a  population 
of  575,000.  In  the  suburban  territory  there 
are  over  700,000  more  people  in  close  relation- 
ship daily  and  almost  hourly  with  the  business 
and  social  life  of  the  city.  The  "  slow  old 
town  "  is  not  so  slow  when  it  is  remembered  that 
within  one  year  after  a  cyclone  swept  it  in  May, 
1896,  there  was  not  a  trace  of  the  visitation. 
Its  conservatism  is  very  real,  but  it  is  not 
stagnation.  St.  Louis  has  gone  on  with  its 
work,  even  though  war  and  the  industrial  ten- 
dencies consequent  on  war,  and  the  political 
and  social  drift  growing  out  of  war  have  been 
in  opposition  to  the  city's  progress.  The  city 
has  built  steadily  but  well,  passing  through  the 


St.  Louis  373 

panic  of  1893  without  a  single  failure.  The 
earlier  history, of  the  town  shows  how  the  con- 
servatism so  thoughtlessly  derided  came  to  be 
ingrained  in  the  life  of  the  city.  It  shows,  too, 
the  pertinacity  which  has  made  St.  Louis  the 
fourth  city  in  the  Union,  in  defiance  of  the 
disaster  that  befell  its  prestige  in  the  great 
war,  and  in  defiance  too  of  the  circumstance 
that  the  new  popular  national  activities  gener- 
ated after  that  great  conflict  found  their  most 
congenial  field  in  regions  practically  out  of 
reach  of,  and  wholly  antipathetic  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  chief  city  of  Missouri.  The  new 
South  and  the  new  Southwest  mean  a  new  St. 
Louis.  And  we  shall  see  what  the  new  St. 
Louis  means  when  the  city  expresses  its  higher 
and  better  self  in  the  Exposition  with  which  its 
people  purpose  to  celebrate  the  purchase,  by 
the  United  States,  in  1803,  of  the  Louisiana 
Territory. 


KANSAS  CITY 

THE   CENTRAL   CITY 

BY   CHARLES  S.    GLEED 

IN  early  literature  and  in  early  United  States 
Indian  treaties  the  Indian  word  "  Kansas" 
appears  as  Caucis,  Konza,  Konseas,  Kons, 
Kanzaw,  Kanzau,  Kaw,  and  Kanzas.  Kansas, 
meaning  smoky,  was  the  name  of  a  tribe  of 
Indians  still  existing  in  the  Indian  Territory 
and  it  came  to  be  applied  to  all  the  country 
west  of  the  Missouri  River  over  which  the 
tribe  roamed  (the  country  which  is  now  largely 
in  the  State  of  Kansas),  and  also  to  its  chief 
river. 

There  are  two  Kansas  Citiesv  one  in  Mis- 
ouri,  the  other  in  Kansas.  The  Kansas  City 
in  Missouri  was  named  after  the  Kansas  Indi- 
ans, the  Kansas  River,  the  Kansas  country,  or 
all  of  them.  The  Kansas  City  in  Kansas  was 
named  after  the  Kansas  City  in  Missouri.  The 

375 


376  Kansas  City 

two  cities  are  one  except  in  law  and  the  line 
dividing  them  is  not  discoverable  except  by 
the  surveyor.  The  Kansas  City  in  Kansas 
was  made  up  of  a  number  of  small  towns  the 
chief  of  which  was  Wyandotte.  It  was  thought 
that  the  Kansas  town  would  be  helped  by 
adopting  the  good  name  belonging  to  the  Mis- 
souri town.  The  Kansas  City  in  Kansas  has 
about  60,000  people  ;  the  Kansas  City  in  Mis- 
souri has  about  225,000.  The  former  is  the 
largest  city  in  Kansas,  while  the  latter  is 
the  second  city  in  Missouri.  In  this  sketch 
the  two  towns  are  considered  as  one. 

Among  large  cities  Kansas  City  is  central, 
for  the  exact  centre  of  the  United  States  is 
about  two  hundred  miles  west  in  Kansas.  At 
the  point  where  Kansas  City  is  located,  the 
Kansas  or  "  Kaw "  River  coming  from  the 
west  empties  into  the  Missouri  River  com- 
ing from  the  North.  The  Kansas-Missouri 
State  line  runs  south  from  near  the  junction 
of  the  two  rivers.  In  the  angles  formed  by 
this  junction  are  very  high  hills,  almost  moun- 
tains. Standing  on  the  high  point  close  in  the 
southern  angle,  one  may  look  away  for  ten  to 
twenty  miles  to  the  north  and  the  east  along 
the  valley  of  the  Missouri  and  to  the  west 


378  Kansas  City 

along  the  valley  of  the  Kansas.  It  is  in  these 
valleys  and  on  these  miniature  mountains 
that  the  city  is  built.  The  parts  in  the  valleys 
present  no  special  difficulties  to  the  town 
builder,  but  in  the  higher  parts  almost  every 
difficulty  is  presented.  The  hills  are  composed 
of  rocks  which  must  be  blasted,  and  of  yellow 
clay.  The  original  bluffs  are  cut  by  numerous 
ravines  leading  towards  the  rivers,  and  those 
streets  running  parallel  with  the  rivers  and 
therefore  crossing  the  ravines  are  necessarily  in 
many  cases  very  steep.  This  topographical  sit- 
uation has  required  the  removal  of  enormous 
quantities  of  earth  and  rock,  the  filling  of  great 
ravines,  and  the  artificial  establishment  of  the 
grades  of  streets.  This  rendered  the  city  un- 
sightly through  its  earlier  years,  but  the  un- 
sightliness  is  rapidly  giving  way  to  great 
beauty  and  picturesqueness. 

The  first  plat  of  the  "  Town  of  Kansas  "  was 
filed  in  1839.  It  included  the  land  bordering 
the  Missouri  River  some  distance  south  and 
east  of  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  River  and 
bounded  by  the  river,  the  present  Second 
Street,  the  present  Delaware  Street,  and  the 
present  Grand  Avenue.  There  was  no  techni- 
cal incorporation,  and  the  common  name  of  the 


380  Kansas  City 

place  was  at  first  Westport  Landing  —  this 
being  the  river  landing  for  the  trading  post 
called  Westport,  four  or  five  miles  south  of  the 
river. 

In  1850,  the  County  Court  of  Jackson 
County,  Missouri,  at  Independence,  created  the 
"  Town  of  Kansas "  as  an  incorporation  gov- 
erned by  a  Board  of  Trustees.  The  first 
board,  appointed  February  4,  1850,  failed  to 
act  and  on  June  3d  of  the  same  year  another 
board  was  appointed,  composed  of  William 
Gillis,  Madison  Walrond,  Lewis  Ford,  Ben- 
noist  Troost,  and  Henry  W.  Brice.  This 
board  controlled  the  town  until  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Missouri,  February  22,  1853,  granted 
the  right  of  incorporation  to  the  city  of  Kansas. 
From  the  small  original  town,  by  one  addition 
after  another,  has  grown  a  city  covering  an 
area  of  nearly  one  hundred  square  miles. 

Long  before  any  incorporation  or  any  plat- 
ting of  town  sites  there  was  much  activity  in 
this  locality.  Judge  E.  P.  West,  an  eminent 
local  geologist,  produces  indisputable  evi- 
dence in  the  shape  of  stone  arrow-heads  and 
spear-heads  found  on  the  present  town  site 
that  the  place  was  inhabited  at  least  21,000 
years  ago.  The  local  museum  contains  a  great 


Kansas  City  3Sl 

number  of  specimens  of  flint  and  stone  work 
indicating-  to  geologists  and  archaeologists  the 
presence  of  races  dating  back  many  centuries. 
In  1825,  the  Jesuit  Fathers  penetrated  all 
parts  of  the  wilderness  surrounding  what  is 
now  Kansas  City.  They  were  doubtless  the 
first  white  settlers  and  in  all  probability  they 
had  only  the  usual  purpose,  zeal  in  propagat- 
ing the  religion  of  their  fathers.  They  are 
known  to  have  built  a  small  log  house  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  northern  part  of  what  is 
now  Troost  Avenue.  It  was  as  much  a  church 
as  a  dwelling,  for  here  the  tribes  to  whom 
they  had  come  attended  religious  service.  In 
1835  a  missionary  named  Father  Roux  estab- 
lished the  first  actual  church  in  this  locality, 
There  were  many  trappers  and  hunters  of  the 
French-Canadian  type  who  had  intermarried 
with  the  Indians.  In  1835  Father  Roux  pur- 
chased of  a  Canadian  some  forty  acres  on  the 
hill  adjoining  the  present  site  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Cathedral,  almost  exactly  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  present  city,  and  in  1839  was  instru- 
mental in  having  a  log  church  built  on  a  part 
of  the  land  situated  between  what  are  now 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Streets  on  Penn  Street. 
Here  for  a  period  of  at  least  twenty  years  a 


382  Kansas  City 

congregation  composed  largely  of  French 
Canadians  and  the  children  of  the  French  and 
Indian  intermarriages  worshipped  together. 
In  1845  Father  Bernard  Donnelly  was  made 
pastor  of  all  Western  Missouri,  and  ministered 
to  the  Indians  and  whites  alike.  Through  his 
efforts  a  brick  church  was  erected  on  the  cor- 
ner of  what  are  now  Eleventh  Street  and 
Broadway,  and  from  1857  to  1880,  when  he 
retired  from  active  work  to  die  a  few  months 
later  at  the  age  of  eighty,  he  devoted  himself 
entirely  to  his  priestly  duties.  The  church 
and  the  city  owe  an  unmeasured  debt  of 
gratitude  to  this  unselfish  and  lovable  man. 

Questions  of  transportation  have  been  of 
overwhelming  interest  to  the  people  of  Kan- 
sas City  from  the  beginning.  The  first  cross- 
ing of  the  Missouri  River  at  this  point  was 
established  in  1836  by  the  operation  of  a  flat- 
boat  at  the  mouth  of  the  "  Kaw."  The  Rev. 
Isaac  McCoy  and  his  son  established  the  ferry 
and  operated  it  until  1854.  Then  came  the 
horse-power  ferryboat,  and  the  steam  ferryboat. 
In  due  time  full-fledged  steamboats  made  their 
appearance  on  the  Missouri.  Westport  Land- 
ing, by  reason  of  a  rocky  bank  and  deep 
water  in  front  of  it,  afforded  an  excellent 


384  Kansas  City 

landing.  Here  were  unloaded  the  goods  for 
the  great  Indian  and  Mexican  trade  of  the 
West,  and  from  here  were  shipped  eastward 
wool,  furs,  buffalo  robes,  and  other  products 
of  the  region.  Immigration  overland  to  Col- 
orado, Utah,  Nevada,  Mexico,  and  California 
came  to  this  point  in  boats  and  then  went 
westward  by  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail.  From 
about  1850  to  the  coming  of  the  railroads, 
from  six  to  ten  boats  daily  came  to  this  land- 
ing. In  1857,  during  the  nine  months  of 
navigation,  no  fewer  than  fifteen  hundred 
boats  arrived  and  departed.  Some  of  them 
were  palatial  structures,  judged  even  by  the 
standard  of  to-day,  and  many  of  them  were 
magnificently  furnished  and  equipped  to  care 
for  passengers. 

One  of  the  early  features  of  the  travel  and 
traffic  between  Kansas  City  and  the  West 
was  the  old  Concord  Coach  and  another  was 
the  ox  and  mule  wagon  known  as  the  "  Prai- 
rie Schooner."  The  coaches  carried  from  ten 
to  fifteen  passengers,  and  the  passengers  as  a 
rule  carried  from  two  to  a  dozen  weapons  of 
defence  against  the  Indians.  At  one  time 
the  fare  per  passenger  from  Westport  to 
Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  was  $175  in  gold,  and 


Kansas  City  385 

the  schedule  time  was  thirteen  days  and  six 
hours.  The  trip  involved  travelling  night 
and  day,  asleep  and  awake,  without  stopping 
except  for  meals.  The  "  Overland  Mail  Ex- 
press Company "  maintained  an  office  for 
years  on  the  Levee,  and  for  carrying  mails 
received  $172,000  a  year.  Mail,  passengers, 
and  express  matter  usually  yielded  from  $5000 
to  $6000  a  trip. 

In  1843,  the  Mexican  trade  from  this  point 
was  suspended  by  Santa  Anna,  who  closed  the 
northern  port  of  entry.  As  soon,  however,  as 
the  embargo  was  removed,  trade  revived  and 
greatly  increased.  At  this  time  Atchison, 
Leavenworth,  St.  Joseph,  and  Omaha  entered 
upon  the  same  business,  but  until  the  Civil 
War  commenced  Kansas  City  retained  most  of 
the  trade.  A  book  published  in  1 843  shows  the 
tonnage  between  Kansas  City  and  Mexico  to 
have  increased  from  15,000  tons  in  1822,  to 
150,000  tons  in  1837,  the  increase  being  fairly 
uniform  over  the  entire  period.  In  1850,  600 
wagons  began  the  overland  trip  from  Kansas 
City  ;  by  1855  the  trade  had  grown  to  a  total 
valuation  of  at  least  $5,000,000,  and  by  1860 
had  still  further  increased  to  a  point  which  at- 
tracted national  attention.  In  that  year  a 


386  Kansas  City 

correspondent  sent  by  the  New  York  Herald 
to  study  the  statistics  of  the  business,  reported 
that  there  were  shipped  from  Kansas  City  in 
that  year  16,439,134  pounds  of  freight,  employ- 
ing 7084  men,  6147  mules,  27,920  yoke  of 
oxen  and  3033  wagons,  to  which  should  be 
added  the  statistics  of  the  trade  with  the  towns 
of  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  This,  for  that  time, 
enormous  bulk  of  business,  passed  over  the 
Santa  Fe  trail  which  is  now  almost  exactly  the 
route  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe 
Railroad. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  in  1865,  dur- 
ing which  Kansas  City,  in  common  with  all  the 
border  towns  of  Missouri  and  Kansas,  was  dis- 
turbed by  the  conflict,  a  tremendous  immigra- 
tion began  to  flow  westward  through  the  city. 
Railroad  enterprises  in  Kansas  and  beyond 
were  opening  up  the  country  for  settlement, 
and  die  families  of  those  who  had  lately  been 
engaged  in  war  rushed  westward  to  take  up  the 
vacant  lands  offered  them. 

The  first  railroads  entering  the  city  were 
the  Hannibal  &  St.  Joseph  (which  is  now  a 
part  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy 
system)  and  the  Missouri  Pacific  —  the  first 
entering  from  the  direction  of  Chicago,  and 


«rfr^^ 

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THE  CITY  HALL,  KANSAS  CITY. 


387 


388  Kansas  City 

the  last  from  the  direction  of  St.  Louis. 
The  first  built  to  the  west  was  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railway,  Eastern  Division,  afterwards 
known  as  the  Kansas  Pacific,  now  a  part  of 
the  Union  Pacific. 

Railroad  building  in  the  country  immediately 
tributary  to  Kansas  City  became  active  at  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War,  and  has  continued  un- 
til the  present  time  (1901),  when  two  new 
main  lines  are  under  construction  towards  the 
city.  The  railway  companies  with  lines  en- 
tering Kansas  City  now  are  the  Chicago, 
Burlington  &  Quincy,  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific,  the  Atchison,  Topeka  & 
Santa  Fe,  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul, 
the  Wabash,  the  Chicago  &  Alton,  the  Mis- 
souri Pacific,  the  Missouri,  Kansas  &  Texas, 
the  St.  Louis  &  San  Francisco,  the  St.  Joseph 
&  Grand  Island,  the  Kansas  City,  Fort  Scott 
&  Memphis,  the  Kansas  City  Southern,  the 
Chicago  &  Great  Western,  the  Kansas  City 
&  Northern,  the  Union  Pacific,  the  Suburban 
Belt,  and  the  Kansas  City  Belt. 

Nowhere  in  the  United  States  can  be  seen 
a  better  demonstration  of  the  wonderful  de- 
velopment of  the  transportation  system  of  the 
country.  Besides  its  trunk-line  railroads  the 


Kansas  City  389 

city  has  two  belt  railway  systems  and  numerous 
private  tracks,  so  that  its  equipment  for  indus- 
trial work  is  unexcelled.  Its  street-railway 
system  of  nearly  two  hundred  miles  is  one  of 
the  finest  in  America.  The  tracks  and  the 
equipment  are  thoroughly  modern  in  every 
respect. 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  Kansas 
City  was  a  weekly  called  the  Kansas  Ledger. 
It  was  established  in  1 85 1 ,  but  was  sold  in  about 
fifteen  months,  and  then  sold  again  and  re- 
moved to  Independence.  The  city  after  the 
death  of  the  Ledger  was  for  eighteen  months 
without  a  newspaper  office.  In  September, 
1854,  the  Kansas  City  Enterprise  made  its  ap- 
pearance, edited  by  W.  A.  Strong,  D.  K. 
Abeel  having  charge  of  the  publishing  depart- 
ment. In  August,  1855,  tne  Enterprise  was 
bought  out  by  R.  T.  Van  Horn,  who  assumed 
editorial  control  in  October.  In  January, 
1857,  Mr.  Abeel  purchased  a  half-interest  in 
the  paper  and  in  the  following  October  the  En- 
terprise became  the  Western  Journal  of  Com- 
merce, a  larger  and  greatly  improved  sheet. 
The  Kansas  City  Journal  grew  out  of  this  and 
at  once  began  to  assume  the  high  position 
among  the  great  dailies  of  the  country  which 


39°  Kansas  City 

it  has  since  maintained.  Theodore  Case,  in 
his  history  of  Kansas  City,  a  volume  of  some 
seven  hundred  pages,  says  of  the  Journal  in 
1888  what  may  well  be  repeated  to-day  : 

"  There  is  one  feature  that  has  always  characterized 
this  paper,  a  never-failing  devotion  to  home  and  local 
interests, and  an  unyielding  faith  in  the  destiny  of  the  city, 
that  has  made  it,  more  than  any  other  interest,  the  builder 
and  architect  of  the  present  City  of  Kansas.  It  has  fur- 
nished more  information,  historical,  statistical  and  com- 
mercial in  regard  to  Western  Missouri,  the  great  western 
plains  and  the  mountains,  their  trade,  resources  and 
capabilities,  than  any  other  paper  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  and  when  the  history  of  the  New  West  comes  to 
be  written,  it  is  to  its  columns  that  the  historian  will  turn 
for  its  earliest  facts  and  figures." 

Colonel  R.  T.  Van  Horn  continued  to  be 
the  chief  owner  and  editor  of  the  Journal  until 
1896,  besides  attending  to  his  duties  as.  Con- 
gressman and  in  other  important  relations.  As 
the  "  Grand  Old  Man  "  of  Kansas  City,  he  is 
to-day  quietly  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  long 
and  honorable  labors. 

The  only  other  Kansas  City  newspaper  be- 
sides the  Journal  in  existence  at  the  close  of 
the  war  was  the  Daily  Kansas  City  Post  (Ger- 
man) started  in  the  latter  part  of  1858,  with 
August  Wuerz,  Sr.,  as  its  first  editor.  Mr. 


392  Kansas  City 

Wuerz  was  a  strong  abolitionist  and  so  aroused 
the  antipathy  of  the  pro-slavery  element  that  he 
was  forced  to  abandon  the  city  in  1860.  He 
crossed  over  to  Wyandotte  (now  Kansas  City, 
Kansas),  published  the  Post  there  for  nine 
months,  and  then  returned  to  Kansas  City. 
The  first  democratic  daily  established  here 
after  the  war  was  the  Advertiser,  which  ap- 
peared in  1865.  It  was  succeeded  in  1868  by 
the  Kansas  City  Times,  which  was  issued  by 
the  proprietors,  Messrs.  R.  B.  Drury  &  Co. 
Varying  fortune  marked  the  paper  until  1878, 
when,  under  the  management  of  Messrs. 
Munford,  Munford  &  Hasbrook,  it  attained  a 
high  standing  among  the  dailies  of  the  country. 
Of  the  papers  which  at  about  this  time  shared 
the  honor  of  representing  Kansas  City  should 
be  named  the  Kansas  City  News,  an  evening 
paper,  which  suspended  after  a  four  years'  ex- 
istence ;  the  Evening  Mail,  an  evening  demo- 
cratic paper,  which  came  into  existence  in  1875 
and  which,  after  frequently  changing  its  pro- 
prietors, became,  in  1882,  the  property  of  the 
owner  of  the  Kansas  City  Star,  Mr.  W.  R.  Nel- 
son. The  Kansas  City  Star  achieved  remark- 
able success  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Nelson,  and 
now  occupies  a  leading  place  among  the  dailies 


394  Kansas  City 

of  the  city  and  the  country,  giving  as  it  always 
has  its  best  efforts  towards  the  upbuilding  and 
expansion  of  the  city.  Another  evening  paper 
which  has  shown  evidence  of  the  growth  of  the 
city  by  its  own  substantial  growth,  is  the  Even- 
ing World,  which,  established  in  1894,  continues 
to  rank  well  among  the  papers  of  the  city. 
Vicious  newspapers  have  never  been  permitted 
to  flourish  in  Kansas  City. 

What  may  be  called  the  real-estate  history 
of  Kansas  City  is  peculiarly  interesting.  In 
the  year  1830  James  H.  McGee  built  a  log 
cabin  for  a  residence  near  what  is  now  the 
corner  of  Twentieth  and  Central  Streets. 
He  made  the  first  kiln  of  brick  west  of  Inde- 
pendence, built  the  first  brick  residence  in 
Kansas  City,  and  furnished  the  bricks  for 
Father  Donnelly's  chapel  chimney.  Mr.  Mc- 
Gee acquired  by  purchase  nearly  all  the  land 
between  the  towns  of  Kansas  City  and  West- 
port,  and  his  name  and  that  of  his  family  is 
to-day  so  associated  with  the  record  of  the 
city's  development  that  it  cannot  be  lost. 
The  first  working  town  company  was  formed 
in  1846  and  was  composed  of  men  whose 
names  subsequently  were  conspicuous  in  the 
city's  history.  They  were  H.  M.  Northrup, 


Kansas  City  395 

Jacob  Ragan,  Henry  Jobe,  William  Gillis,  Rob- 
ert Campbell,  Fry  P.  McGee,  W.  B.  Evans, 
W.  M.  Chick,  and  J.  C.  McCoy.  It  is  said 
that  about  1 50  lots  were  then  sold  at  an  aver- 
age price  of  $55.65  per  lot.  This  was  the 
nucleus  of  the  old  town  and  the  beginning  of 
its  most  picturesque  history  as  a  real-estate 
market  In  the  years  between  1878  and  1888 
(the  "  boom  "  period)  the  city  grew  extraordi- 
narily, the  excitement  over  real-estate  transac- 
tions reaching  a  point  probably  unprecedented 
in  this  country.  An  enormous  acreage  of 
what  never  can  be  anything  but  farm  land 
was  platted  and  sold  as  city  property,  and 
prices  for  all  classes  of  real  estate  reached 
figures  which  will  probably  never  be  reached 
again,  at  least  until  the  city  has  a  population 
greater  than  now  seems  possible. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865,  Kansas 
City  had  three  banks,  one  insurance  company, 
one  daily  and  two  weekly  English  newspapers, 
one  German  weekly  and  one  bi-monthly  med- 
ical journal.  The  churches  were  two  Metho- 
dist, one  Baptist,  two  Presbyterian,  one  Roman 
Catholic  and  one  Christian.  There  were  two 
lodges  of  Masons,  two  of  Odd  Fellows,  one  of 
Good  Templars,  a  Turn  Verein,  a  Shamrock 


396 


Kansas  City 


Benevolent  Society,  a  girl's  school,  a  rectory 
school,  and  a  German  school.  The  census  of 
1860  showed  a  population  of  4418.  Now  the 
city  stands  first  among  the  cities  of  the  land 
in  the  agricultural  implement  trade,  first  in 


THE  STOCK  YARD  EXCHANGE,   KANSAS  CITY. 

the  Southern  lumber  trade,  second  in  the  live- 
stock trade,  first  in  the  horse  and  mule  trade, 
second  as  a  railroad  centre,  second  in  the 
meat-packing  business,  tenth  in  bank  clear- 
ings, nineteenth  in  the  value  of  its  manu- 

o    7 

factures.       It  has  50   public-school    buildings, 


Kansas  City 


397 


626  teachers  and  34,142  pupils.  It  has  the 
second  largest  park  system  in  the  country, 
having  over  2000  acres.  It  handled  in  1900 
$130,824,270  worth  of  live-stock;  32,625,850 


THE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  KANSAS  CITY. 


bushels  of  wheat;  7,290,000  bushels  of  corn; 
3,035,600  bushels  of  oats;  156,000  bushels  of 
rye,  and  12,000  bushels  of  barley.  It  did  a 
wholesale  business  of  $265,000,000,  its  pack- 
ing houses  turned  out  $100,000,000  worth  of 
products,  slaughtering  1,000,000  cattle,  2,900,- 


398  Kansas  City 

ooo  hogs  and  650,673  sheep.  Its  bank  clear- 
ings were  $698,755,530.  Its  banking  and  trust- 
company  capital  was  $8,000,000 ;  it  had  two 
hundred  miles  of  paved  streets,  twenty-seven 
grain  elevators  with  a  storage  capacity  of 
6,484,000  bushels. 

On  the  non-material  side  the  city  has  made  a 
progress  even  more  remarkable.  It  is  not  de- 
voted entirely  to  money-getting.  The  human- 
ities have  been  remembered.  There  are  some 
thirty-four  hospitals,  asylums,  and  benevolent 
homes.  It  has  eight  hospitals  proper  for  the 
reception  of  the  sick,  disabled,  and  diseased,  the 
Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  Company  maintain- 
ing one.  There  are  five  children's  homes,  and 
one  industrial  home.  There  are  three  homes 
for  the  aged,  one  of  which  is  for  colored  peo- 
ple entirely.  There  is  one  convent  and  an  in- 
stitution each  for  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  besides  others  of  lesser 
importance.  In  some  cases  the  buildings  may 
not  be  pretentious,  but  they  are  all  ample  in  size, 
and  in  many  instances  would  not  discredit  the 
cities  of  the  largest  population.  The  excep- 
tional intelligence  of  the  people  is  proved  by 
other  unmistakable  signs.  Strong,  clean  news- 
papers, beautiful  opera  houses,  first-class  hotels, 


Kansas  City  399 

hundreds  of  churches,  modern  schools,  great 
libraries,  charming  clubs,  beautiful  parks  and 
streets,  fine  hospitals,  fine  public  buildings,  ad- 
mirable public  utilities,  and  above  all  an  enor- 
mous proportion  of  beautiful  homes, — these 
are  some  of  the  signs  that  tell  of  the  fruition 
of  the  highest  hopes  of  the  hardy  pioneers 
who  first  gave  battle  to  savagery  and  the 
wilderness  at  this  point. 

That  the  city  has  a  much  greater  growth  be- 
fore it  is  the  opinion  of  all  who  are  familiar  with 
the  conditions  there.  The  vast  agricultural, 
mineral,  and  manufacturing  region  surrounding 
it  and  directly  tributary  to  it  for  a  thousand 
miles  in  every  direction  is  sure  to  push  it 
steadily  forward  among  American  cities  until 
it  ranks  at  last  with  Boston,  Baltimore,  and 
St.  Louis. 


OMAHA 

THE   TRANSCONTINENTAL  GATEWAY 

BY  VICTOR  ROSEWATER 

NOW  a  city  of  100,000  population,  with 
prosperous  suburbs  that  make  it  the  busi- 
ness centre  for  175,000  people,  Omaha  is  the 
outgrowth  of  the  Nebraska  &  Council  Bluffs 
Ferry  Company.  This  company  was  organ- 
ized under  the  incorporation  laws  of  Iowa,  in 
1853,  to  carry  on  the  lucrative  ferriage  traf- 
fic for  transcontinental  pilgrims  in  quest  of  the 
gold-fields  of  California  that  had  been  begun 
two  years  previously  by  a  halted  gold-seeker, 
Brown  by  name,  who  saw  more  gold  in  pad- 
dling passengers  across  the  murky  Missouri 
than  in  washing  the  yellow  sands  near  Sutter's 
mill. 

As   an    adjunct    to  the  ferry,  the  company 
staked  out  a  claim  adjacent  to  its  west  landing 

401 


4O2 


Omaha 


directly  opposite  Council  Bluffs,  and  employed 
Alfred  D.  Jones,  a  young  civil  engineer,  to  lay 
out  a  town  site  Which  on  pretentious  paper  was 
invested,  without  particular  thought  or  design, 
with  the  name  Omaha,  from  the  tribe  of  Ind- 
ians that  was  wont  to  camp  upon  the  creek 

brushing  its 
north  boundary. 
The  survey  was 
conducted  in 
June  and  July 
of  1854,  and  the 
adoption  of  the 
name  was  doubt- 
less suggested 
by  the  fact  that 
a  month  or  more 
before  the  repre- 
sentative in  Con- 
gress for  the 
State  of  Iowa 
had  prevailed 

upon  the  Post-Office  Department  to  issue  a 
commission  to  Mr.  Jones  as  postmaster  at 
Omaha  City,  which  at  that  time  must  have 
existed  solely  in  his  prolific  imagination.  Post- 
master Jones  carrying  the  post-office  around 


ALFRED  D.  JONES. 


Omaha  4°3 

with  him  in  his  hat  is  a  reminiscence  founded 
on  actual  fact  and  not  in  fancy. 

That  the  ideas  of  these  early  pioneers  were 
of  the  expansible  variety  is  readily  gathered 
from  the  character  of  the  plat  prepared  to  mark 
the  coming  town  site  as  the  seat  of  a  great  and 
mighty  city.  On  the  broad  plateau  overlooking 
the  river,  building  lots  were  staked  out  66  by 
132  feet,  divided  by  streets  100  feet  wide  and 
alleys  of  20  feet.  There  were  320  blocks  in 
all,  each  comprising  eight  lots  forming  squares 
of  264  feet.  Two  squares  were  reserved,  one  in 
the  business  centre  264  by  280  feet,  and  the 
other  on  the  top  of  the  most  conspicuous  hill 
600  feet  square,  the  latter  designated  as  Capitol 
Square  and  the  hill  as  Capitol  Hill,  and  a  broad 
avenue  i  20  feet  wide  leading  to  it  as  Capitol 
Avenue — all  in  foreordained  honor  of  the  mag- 
nificent structure  to  be  erected  when  the  newly 
born  city  should  have  achieved  the  distinction 
of  the  capital  of  Nebraska  Territory.  Omaha 
City  was  not  organized  as  an  incorporated 
municipality  until  1857. 

Looking  closer  into  the  history  and  geogra- 
phy of  the  spot  where  now  run  the  busy 
streets  of  Nebraska's  metropolis,  lined  with 
substantial  business  blocks  and  attractive 


Omaha 


residences,  precisely  as  platted  in  that  lonely 
summer  of  1 854,  the  conclusion  is  forced  that  it 
was  not  mere  fortuitous  chance  that  built  a 
wonder  city  upon  an  empty  ferry  landing.  The 

location  was  by 
nature  destined 
to  be  a  turning- 
point  on  the 
great  central 
transconti- 
nental  highway 
bridging  the 
divide  between 
the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific. 
Lewis  and 
Clark,  who 
worked  their 
way  to  Oregon 
up  the  Missouri 
Valley,  were  the 
first  white  men  to  leave  a  record  of  their  visit. 
From  their  journal  is  taken  the  following  ex- 
tract noting  their  arrival  and  detention  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Platte  in  July,  1804,  whence  they 
continued  northward  and  passed  over  the 
ground  now  included  in  the  city : 


WILLIAM.  P.  SNOWDEN,  OMAHA'S  FIRST 
WHITE  SETTLER. 


Omaha  4°5 

"  July  27. — Having  completed  the  object  of  our  stay, 
we  set  sail  with  a  pleasant  breeze  for  the  northwest.  The 
two  horses  swam  over  to  the  southern  [western]  shore, 
along  which  we  went,  passing  by  an  island,  at  three  and 
a  half  miles,  formed  by  a  pond,  fed  by  springs  ;  three 
miles  further  is  a  large  sand  island  in  the  middle  of  the 
river,  the  land  on  the  south  [west]  being  high  and  cov- 
ered with  timber  ;  that  on  the  north  [east]  a  prairie.  At 
ten  and  a  half  miles  from  our  encampment,  we  saw  and 
examined  a  curious  collection  of  graves  or  mounds,  on 
the  south  [west]  side  of  the  river.  Not  far  from  a  low 
piece  of  land  and  a  pond,  is  a  tract  of  about  two  hun- 
dred acres  in  extent,  which  is  covered  with  mounds  of 
different  heights,  shapes  and  sizes  ;  some  of  sand,  and 
some  of  both  earth  and  sand  ;  the  largest  being  near  the 
river.  These  mounds  indicate  the  position  of  the  ancient 
village  of  the  Ottoes,  before  they  retired  to  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Pawnees.  After  making  fifteen  miles,  we 
camped  on  the  south  [east]  on  the  bank  of  a  high,  hand- 
some prairie,  with  lofty  cottonwood  in  groves,  near  the 
river."  ' 

That  the  mounds  referred  to  constituted 
the  ancient  Indian  burial  ground,  remnants  of 
which  long  remained  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
town  as  objects  of  curiosity  to  inquisitive  obser- 
vers, has  been  established  to  the  satisfaction  of 
historical  critics,  as  also  that  the  council  held 
by  Lewis  and  Clark  with  the  Indians,  from 

1  In  this  account  the  directions  are  misleading,  as  they  thought 
the  river  ran  east  and  west  instead  of  north  and  south  at  this  point. 


406  Omaha 

which  Council  Bluffs  derives  its  name,  took 
place  in  reality  not  on  the  Iowa  side  opposite 
Omaha  but  on  the  Nebraska  side  several  miles 
farther  up,  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  Fort 
Calhoun. 

A  no  less  interesting  historical  chapter  is 
found  in  the  Mormon  encampment  that  for 
a  time  promised  to  make  Omaha  the  centre  of 
its  church  establishment.  It  is  needless  here 
to  state  details  of  the  Nauvoo  persecutions 
and  the  early  expeditions  in  search  of  the 
promised  land.  When  the  advance-guard 
sighted  the  east  bank  of  the  Missouri,  it  took 
a  stand  on  Miller's  hill, — so  named  after  a  Mor- 
mon elder, — where  the  various  companies  into 
which  the  emigrants  had  been  divided  for 
their  historic  march  across  Iowa  converged. 
It  might  have  been  called  Miller's  hill  to  this 
day  had  not  just  at  that  moment  a  call  arrived 
to  enlist  a  body  of  volunteers  for  the  United 
States  in  its  impending  war  with  Mexico,  fol- 
lowed by  the  prompt  organization  of  the  Mor- 
mon battalion  under  Colonel  T.  L.  Kane,  in 
whose  honor  the  name  of  the  halting  place 
was  changed  to  Kanesville.  Kanesville  it 
might  have  remained  but  for  the  fact  that  the 
post-office  at  that  point  had  been  designated 


Omaha 


407 


as  Council  Bluffs  City,  whither  the  last  mail 
for  the  emigrants  setting  out  over  the  great 


A  TYPICAL  OMAHA  INDIAN. 

REPRODUCED    BY    PERMISSION    OF    F.    A.    RINEHART,    OMAHA. 

divide  was  regularly  addressed;  and  to  avoid 
confusion  the  name  of  Kanesville  was  dropped 
after  two  or  three  years  and  Council  Bluffs 


408  Omaha 

left  in  undisputed  possession  of  that  corner  of 
the  map. 

But  the  east  bank  of  the  river  was  not  suit- 
able for  the  Mormons'  purposes.  They  crossed 
over  and  established  themselves  in  Winter 
Quarters  at  a  point  about  six  miles  north  of 
what  later  became  Omaha,  making  themselves 
as  comfortable  as  possible  in  seven  hundred 
and  more  hastily  built  log  cabins  and  dug-outs. 
The  place  was  fortified  with  stockades,  a  tab- 
ernacle erected,  and  various  workshops  and 
mills  were  constructed  to  provide  temporary 
employment.  At  Winter  Quarters  was  held 
the  annual  conference  of  the  church,  April  6, 
1847,  attended  by  people  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  prepared  for  moving  west.  From 
Winter  Quarters,  on  the  i4th  day  of  the  same 
month,  a  party  of  about  150,  all  but  four 
or  five  being  men,  set  out,  with  seventy-three 
wagons  drawn  by  horses  and  oxen,  under  the 
personal  leadership  of  Brigham  Young,  the 
expedition  culminating  in  the  famous  found- 
ing of  Zion  in  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt 
Lake.  The  excursion  of  apostles  and  pion- 
eers returned  to  the  Missouri  for  their  families 
and  friends,  their  arrival  at  Winter  Quarters  in 
October  calling  forth  as  an  occasion  for  special 


Omaha  409 

joy  and  thanksgiving  an  elaborate  celebration. 
The  summer  of  1848  saw  the  great  body  of 
Latter  Day  Saints  following  Brigham  Young, 
to  the  new  Utah  settlement,  but  Winter 
Quarters  was  maintained  for  years  as  the 
stopping  point  and  outfitting  station  for  the 
Mormon  emigrants  on  their  westward  wander- 
ing. By  1856  the  name  had  been  changed  to 
Florence  and  it  is  so  referred  to  in  the  writings 
of  the  later  Mormons.  For  years  it  remained 
the  busy  hiving  place  for  the  church  converts 
moving  on  Zion  from  all  quarters  of  the  world. 
To-day  it  is  a  quaint,  old-fashioned  sleepy  vil- 
lage, interesting  chiefly  for  a  few  ancient  land- 
marks, and  visited  on  good-weather  Sundays 
by  recreation  seekers  from  Omaha  in  cart  or 
on  wheel. 

The  earliest  history  of  Omaha  is  a  chronicle 
of  bitterly  waged  fights  for  the  possession  of 
the  seat  of  government  of  the  new  Nebraska 
Territory.  The  proud  privilege  of  advertising 
itself  as  the  capital  city  was  eagerly  sought  after 
not  only  by  Omaha  but  by  every  other  ambi- 
tious town-site  company  along  the  eastern  fron- 
tier. It  should  be  remembered  that  the  initial 
steps  in  the  territorial  organization  were  taken 
under  the  presidency  of  Franklin  Pierce,  who, 


Omaha 


although  a  Northern  man,  was  almost  com- 
pletely under  Southern  domination.  The  posi- 
tion of  governor  was  first  offered  to  General 
William  G.  Butler  of  Kentucky,  but  uncere- 
moniously declined,  whereupon  it  was  passed 
on  to  another  Southern  gentleman  in  the  per- 
son of  Francis  H.  Burt  of  South  Carolina. 
Governor  Burt  arrived  at  Bellevue  in  company 
with  the  secretary,  Thomas  B.  Cuming  of 
Iowa,  in  October,  1854,  but  before  he  under- 
took in  any  way  to  exercise  his  official  powers 
he  succumbed  to  a  fatal  illness,  leaving  the 
succession  by  virtue  of  his  office  to  Secretary 
Cuming.  Governor  Cuming  in  due  time  is- 
sued his  election  proclamation  and  called  the 
territorial  Legislature  to  convene  at  Omaha  in 
January.  In  this  connection  it  should  also  be 
remembered  that  Omaha  was  located  and  set- 
tled by  Iowa  promoters  while  the  competing 
towns  to  the  south  looked  on  slave-holding 
Missouri  as  the  parent.  Had  the  first  capital 
designation  been  asserted  by  the  South  Caro- 
lina executive  instead  of  by  his  fortuitous  Iowa 
successor  we  may  well  doubt  whether  Omaha 
would  have  fared  so  fortunately. 

The    earliest    territorial    legislatures    have 
been  described  by  eye-witnesses  and  partici- 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL,  OMAHA,  ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE  OLD  CAPITOL. 

REPRODUCED    BY    PERMISSION    OF    HEYN,    OMAHA. 


412  Omaha 

pants  as  often  bordering  on  an  organized  mob. 
To  keep  the  capital  at  Omaha  was  the  watch- 
word on  the  one  side  and  to  take  it  away  the 
battle-cry  on  the  other.  Money  and  town-lot 
stock  are  said  to  have  played  an  important 
part  with  members  who  seem  to  have  an- 
ticipated later-day  legislative  methods  and 
yielded  to  "  inducements  "  that  overcame  their 
local  loyalty.  While  the  Capitol  building  rose 
on  Capitol  Hill,  Omaha  had  to  contest  for  its 
retention  at  every  annual  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature from  1855  to  1858,  from  which  time  it 
was  left  in  undisputed  possession  until  1867, 
when  with  the  investiture  of  Statehood  a  seat 
of  government  was  carved  anew  on  the  virgin 
prairie  to  be  christened  Lincoln  after  the  mar- 
tyred President. 

The  great  impetus  that  sent  the  infant 
Omaha  forward  by  leaps  and  bounds  ahead 
of  its  rivals  in  the  Missouri  Valley  north  and 
south  came  from  two  closely  connected  enter- 
prises— the  one  the  building  of  the  Pacific 
telegraph,  the  other  the  construction  of  the 
first  transcontinental  railroad. 

The  Pacific  telegraph  assumed  tangible  form 
through  the  unquenchable  energies  of  Edward 
Creighton.  Still  in  the  prime  of  sturdy  man- 


Omaha  413 

hood,  invigorated  by  the  Irish  blood  inherited 
from  his  ancestry,  Creighton  had  come  to 
Omaha  in  1856  to  visit  his  brothers,  engaging 
for  a  time  in  the  lumber  business.  In  1860 
he  built  the  Missouri  &  Western  line  from  St. 
Louis  to  Omaha,  but  already  a  year  before 
had  evolved  a  plan  for  a  telegraph  from  the 
Missouri  River  to  the  Pacific  coast.  With 
the  encouragement  and  material  assistance  of 
men  like  Jeptha  H.  Wade,  Ezra  Cornell,  and 
Hiram  Sibley,  whose  confidence  he  earned 
and  kept,  his  idea,  originally  received  as  a 
weird  fancy,  took  shape  in  surveys,  contracts, 
and  actual  construction,  the  first  message 
transmission  occurring  in  October,  1861,  speed- 
ing on  in  an  hour  by  electric  current  intelli- 
gence that  would  previously  have  required 
weeks  and  months  to  journey.  The  fortune 
sprung  from  this  venturesome  undertaking  has 
given  the  name  of  Creighton  a  foundation  last- 
ing to  the  end  of  time.  Edward  Creighton 
died  in  1874,  leaving  $1,500,000  to  be  be- 
stowed eventually  for  educational  and  char- 
itable purposes.  The  good  work  he  began 
has  been  carried  further  by  his  brother,  John 
A.  Creighton,  and  the  Creighton  College,  the 
Creighton  Medical  School,  and  the  Creighton 


Omaha 


Memorial  Hospital,  not  to  enumerate  smaller 
benefactions,  all  attest  as  enduring  monu- 
ments the  activity  and  foresight  that  paved 
the  way  for  the  electric  fluid  to  flow  unchecked 

from  ocean 
to  ocean. 

The  tele- 
graph was 
but  the  fore- 
ru  n  n  er  of 
the  railroad. 
With  Omaha 
the  initial 
point  of  the 
Pacific  tele- 
graph lines, 
it  enjoyed  a 
marked  ad- 
vantage in 
the  competi- 
tion for  the 
eastern  terminus  of  the  Pacific 'Rail  way.  Up 
to  that  time,  all  transportation  had  been  by 
steamboat  up  the  Missouri  River  or  in  wagon 
and  coach  overland.  The  race  of  the  iron 
horse  across  Iowa  had  been  interrupted,  first 
by  the  financial  crash  of  1857,  and  then  by  the 


CITY  HAUL. 


Omaha  415 

war  of  1 86 1,  so  that  the  first  locomotive  to 
carry  its  train  to  the  Missouri  River  arrived 
January  17,  1867,  bearing  the  escutcheon  of 
the  Chicago  &  Northwestern.  Within  two 
years  four  railroads  converged  at  the  river 
opposite  Omaha  eager  to  share  the  through 
transcontinental  traffic  already  in  sight. 

The  history  of  Omaha  and  of  the  Union 
Pacific  is  inseparably  linked.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  weigh  the  conflicting  claims  to  credit 
for  suggesting  the  railroad  to  the  Pacific  slope. 
The  war  demonstrated  the  military  necessity 
of  a  rail  connection  with  the  coast  States  and 
forced  Congress  to  take  the  steps  that  made 
its  immediate  construction  possible.  Without 
the  subsidy  offered  in  the  Acts  of  1862  and 
1863  the  road  certainly  would  not  have  been 
built  for  years,  and  the  development  of  the 
whole  western  country  would  have  been  long 
retarded. 

At  the  recommendation  of  the  chief  engi- 
neer, Peter  A.  Dey,  the  eastern  terminus  was 
fixed  "  on  the  western  boundary  of  the  State 
of  Iowa,  opposite  Omaha,"  an  event  so  auspi- 
cious as  to  provoke  a  responsive  demonstration 
from  the  enthusiastic  inhabitants  of  the  young 
city,  who  made  the  master-stroke  of  their  cele- 


416  Omaha 

bration  the  actual  breaking  of  the  ground  for 
the  newly  projected  road.  This  occurred  De- 
cember 2,  1863,  with  the  thermometer  hovering 
close  to  the  freezing  point. 

The  work  of  construction  was  pushed  with 
all  possible  rapidity,  but  with  the  best  expedi- 
tion it  was  May  10,  1869,  before  the  juncture 
of  the  two  roads  heading  for  one  another 
from  east  and  west  was  effected,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  distinguished  body  of  spectators,  by 
the  driving  of  the  golden  spike  at  Prom- 
ontory Point,  girding  the  continent  with 
bands  of  steel.  According  to  all  accounts  the 
celebration  at  Omaha  of  the  completion  of  the 
Union  Pacific  was  on  a  scale  commensurate 
with  its  importance  to  the  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial position  of  the  city. 

If  Engineer  Dey  was  the  central  figure  in  the 
initial  work,  Thomas  C.  Durant,  as  First  Vice- 
President  and  General  Manager,  had  more  to  do 
with  its  successful  completion  than  any  other 
one  man.  While  many  names  have  since  shown 
bright  in  the  progress  of  this  epoch-making  en- 
terprise, those  of  Dey  and  Durant  must  form 
the  base-stones  of  the  arch  that  has  raised  this 
great  railroad  to  its  eminence,  and  carried  it 
through  stress  and  storm. 


RETURN  OF  THE  FIRST  NEBRASKA  VOLUNTEERS,  AUG.  30,  1899. 


417 


4' 8  Omaha 

The  prestige  acquired  by  Omaha  as  a  rail- 
way centre  in  those  early  days  has  been  con- 
stantly maintained,  until  to-day  the  steel  rails 
radiate  in  every  direction,  while  three  magnifi- 
cent bridges  span  the  Missouri  where  Brown's 
lonely  ferry  formerly  transferred  victims  of  the 
gold  fever  from  one  bank  to  the  other. 

With  a  firmly  established  industrial  founda- 
tion, the  progress  of  the  city  has  gone  steadily 
forward.  Commercial  expansion,  it  is  true, 
has  been  broken  occasionally  by  bursting  real- 
estate  booms,  grasshopper  plagues,  drought- 
stricken  crops  or  general  financial  depression, 
but  in  material  welfare  and  ever-widening 
public  activity  the  community  takes  rank  with 
its  most  wide-awake  competitors.  Besides  its 
extensive  jobbing  interests,  its  manufacturing 
development  has  been  along  the  lines  of  silver 
smelting  and  refining,  linseed  oil  mills,  white 
lead  works,  machine  and  locomotive  shops,  and 
the  great  live-stock  market  and  meat-packing 
establishments  that  have  formed  the  nucleus 
of  the  magic  city  braced  against  its  boundary 
under  the  name  of  South  Omaha,  and  sure, 
sooner  or  later,  to  be  one  with  it  in  corporate 
existence,  as  it  is  already  in  life  and  business. 
Although  not  yet  past  the  fiftieth  anniversary, 


420  Omaha 

Omaha  boasts  of  all  those  advantages  that  make 
an  attractive  living-  place — good  schools,  well- 
stocked  free  libraries,  substantial  churches,  art 
galleries,  well-paved  streets,  with  water,  light, 
and  rapid  transit,  fine  public  parks,  imposing 
public  buildings.  Above  all,  it  is  a  city  of 
homes  and  home  owners,  thick  with  modest 
dwellings  though  only  meagrely  supplied  with 
palatial  mansions.  Omaha's  contribution  to 
the  world  of  science,  art,  and  literature  is 
perhaps  small,  but  it  has  given  two  presidents 
to  the  American  Bar  Association  in  James 
M.  Woolworth  and  Charles  F.  Manderson, 
the  latter  also  having  filled  the  position  of 
President  pro  tern,  of  the  United  States 
Senate  ;  in  banking  circles  Herman  Kountze 
and  Joseph  H.  Millard  are  known  through- 
out the  country  ;  Edward  Rosewater  and 
his  newspaper,  The  Bee,  occupy  a  place  in 
the  front  rank  of  American  journalism  ;  the 
art  gallery  of  George  Whininger  is  classed 
among  the  best  private  collections  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic ;  and  the  benevolence  of  John 
A.  Creighton  has  received  recognition  in  the 
title  conferred  on  him  of  Count  in  the  Holy 
Roman  See. 

The   Trans-Mississippi   Exposition   of  1898 


C   o 
<n    , 

2 


422  Omaha 

constitutes  Omaha's  crowning  achievement  of 
recent  years.  Projected  in  the  period  of  densest 
industrial  gloom  and  executed  in  the  face  of  the 
war  with  Spain,  the  enterprise  proved  an  un- 
expected and  unprecedented  success,  returning 
to  the  stock  subscribers  ninety  per  cent,  of  the 
money  they  had  advanced.  The  financial  suc- 
cess was,  however,  subordinate  to  the  success 
in  other  directions.  A  white  city  of  such  archi- 
tectural perfection  could  not  fail  to  afford  an 
aesthetic  stimulus  in  itself  of  wonderful  educa- 
tional effect.  Participated  in  by  all  the  trans- 
Mississippi  States  and  Territories  as  an 
exhibition  of  the  resources  and  products  of 
this  vast  region,  the  Exposition  served  to  open 
the  eyes  of  visitors  from  both  at  home  and 
abroad  to  the  limitless  possibilities  there  spread 
before  them.  The  Indian  Congress  alone,  in- 
cluding as  it  did  representatives  of  nearly  all 
the  remaining  tribes  of  aboriginal  inhabitants 
gathered  together  under  the  direction  of  the 
Indian  authorities  of  the  Federal  Government, 
formed  an  ethnic  object-lesson  the  like  of 
which  had  never  before  been  presented.  No 
fitter  culmination  could  have  been  prepared 
than  the  Peace  Jubilee,  in  its  closing  month  of 
October,  attended  by  President  McKinley, 


Omaha 


423 


members  of  his  Cabinet,  and  heroes  of  the 
armed  conflict  just  concluded,  all  uniting  in 
acclaiming  the  end  of  war  typified  in  the  Expo- 
sition as  a  towering  triumph  of  the  arts  of 
peace. 


DENVER 

THE  QUEEN  CITY  OF  THE   PLAINS 

BY  JOHN  COTTON   DANA 

DENVER  has  historic  background.  Be- 
hind its  own  brief  chronicles  we  note  the 
outline  of  the  story,  full  of  the  good  work  of 
strong  men,  of  the  exploration  and  civic  con- 
quest of  the  wide  country  between  the  Missis- 
sippi River  and  the  Pacific  coast.  To  ask  of 
Denver's  beginnings  is  to  go  back  of  1858  and 
the  hopeful  Aurarians  by  the  ford  at  the  mouth 
of  Cherry  Creek,  to  government  explorations, 
California  gold  seekers,  Mormon  emigrants, 
trappers  and  traders,  and  Spanish  pioneers. 

The  incidents  which  lead  up  to  Denver's 
origin  took  place  here  and  there  in  a  great 
mid-continental  area  so  vast  as  to  make  those 
incidents  seem  at  first  sight  isolated,  unrelated 
to  one  another.  But  there  is  a  simplicity  of 
plan  in  that  great  country  which,  taken  with 

425 


426  Denver 

the  gold  of  the  west  coast  and  the  migrant 
spirit  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  makes  the  early  ventures  across  the 
plains  seem  natural  enough  and  binds  them  to 
one  another.  Given  the  country  and  the  fac- 
tors mentioned,  and  a  great  central  city,  at 
once  a  focus  and  distributing  point  for  all  that 
lay  across  the  plains,  the  Denver  of  to-day, 
was  foreordained. 

Westward  of  the  Mississippi  lie  six  hundred 
miles  of  plains,  fertile  and  attractive  on  their 
eastern  edge,  a  desert  waste  beyond,  ending 
abruptly  in  rocky  mountains.  The  mountains, 
dropping  here  and  there  into  high  and  barren 
tablelands,  roll  on  a  thousand  miles  to  the 
Pacific.  From  the  Canadian  to  the  Mexican 
boundary,  plains  and  mountains  thus  dispose 
themselves  and  make  the  arena  for  the  drama 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  conquest  of  the  new  West, 
— a  conquest  of  a  not  too  unwilling  nature  by 
energetic  and  efficient  men.  The  scene  was 
remote  ;  the  land,  generous  when  once  sub- 
dued, was  repellent  if  not  hostile  in  its  aspect, 
and  added  to  the  barrier  of  a  desert  waste 
upon  its  border  the  deterrents  and  terrors  of 
the  unknown.  The  Indians  who  claimed  the 
soil  —  chiefly  Arapahoes  and  their  allies 


Denver 


427 


near  Denver,  and  their  hereditary  foes,  the 
Utes,  in  the  mountains — did  all  in  their  power 
to  make  a  seemingly  inhospitable  nature  yet 
more  inhospitable.  They  were  never  large  in 
number.  They  were  foredoomed  to  defeat. 


LOUISIANA  PURCHASE. 

1803. 


MEXICAN 

CE5S107N . 

1848.  

m  •^^•^^^•v^*'^^^        ^*^r 

TEXAS  CESSION.  1850. ., 

PURGES  OF  TERRITORIAL  ACQUISITION 
OF  COLORADO. 

Their  presence  in  this  vast  area  added  more 
of  romance  than  of  difficulty  and  danger  to 
the  coming  of  the  white  man.  Some  of  their 
travel-worn  paths  among  the  mountains,  like 
the  old  Navajo  trail  of  Southwest  Colorado, 
may  still  be  traced,  can  still  arouse  sym- 
pathetic interest  in  a  people  for  whom  the 


428  Denver 

modern  man  could  not  wait,  and  despised 
as  laggard.  From  Aztec  Springs,  across  Lost 
Canon,  over  the  Dolores  River  near  its  big 
bend,  out  upon  Dolores  Plateau  to  Nar- 
raguinnep  Spring  and  the  borders  of  Disap- 
pointment Valley,  and  then  on  and  on  again, 
so  runs  the  old  Navajo  trail  ;  here  a  single 
foot-path  up  the  caflon  side,  there  deep  triple 
and  quadruple  ruts  worn  by  men,  women, 
horses,  and  dragging  teepee  poles.  With  no 
signs  of  permanent  habitation  on  its  way,  out 
of  wild  nature  it  comes,  into  wild  nature  it 
goes  ;  significant  of  the  passing  of  the  people 
who  made  it  and  of  the  petty  trace  they  left  on 
the  world  about  them. 

The  Spanish  had  carried  their  religion  and 
their  rule  up  into  the  southern  margin  of  this 
great  area  long  before  the  first  settlements  were 
made  on  Massachusetts  Bay.  Coronado  pushed 
as  far  northeast  as  Kansas  in  1541.  The  towns 
which  the  Spanish  established,  many  of  them 
three  centuries  and  more  ago,  led  to  the  brief 
romance  of  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail,  and  still 
give  a  peculiar  flavor  to  the  story  of  the 
southern  border.  But  save  for  a  few  small 
towns  whose  lack  of  root  in  the  soil  is  evidenced 
by  the  ruins  of  their  churches — churches  so 


43°  Denver 

far  forgotten  that  our  own  historians  have 
called  them  remains  of  prehistoric  times — the 
Spanish  invasion  was  an  invasion  always,  not 
a  settlement,  not  an  appropriation  of  even  the 
margin  of  the  vast  area  we  are  considering. 

Lewis  and  Clark  went  northwest  to  the 
Columbia  in  1803  ;  Pike  went  up  the  Arkansas 
in  1806  ;  and  that  young  man's  simple  tale  of 
the  things  he  dared  and  the  sights  he  saw  in 
his  march  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  lone  fort 
he  built  on  the  banks  of  the  Conejos  in  the 
San  Luis  Valley  is  charming  and  adventurous. 
He  was  the  American  pioneer  of  the  future 
Colorado.  Wandering  trappers  and  hunters 
had  preceded  him  ;  but  none  told  what  they 
had  seen. 

Long,  with  his  expedition,  in  July,  1820, 
crossed  the  spot  where  Denver  now  stands. 
Long  was  an  explorer,  not  a  pioneer.  Pio- 
neers are  prophets,  and  see  the  fences  and 
barns  that  are  to  come.  To  Long  all  west  of 
the  Missouri, 

"  agreeably  to  the  best  intelligence  that  can  be  had  .  .  . 
is  throughout  uninhabitable  by  a  people  depending 
upon  agriculture  for  their  subsistence.  .  .  .  This  re- 
gion, however,"  he  says,  "viewed  as  a  frontier,  may 
prove  of  infinite  importance  to  the  United  States,  inas- 


Denver 


431 


much  as  it  is  calculated  to  serve  as  a  barrier  to  prevent 
too  great  an  extension  of  our  population  westward,  and 
secure  us  against  the  machinations  or  incursions  of  an 
enemy,  that  might  otherwise  be  disposed  to  annoy  us  in 
that  quarter." 

This  opinion,  widely  circulated,  perhaps 
helped  to  defer 
the  day  of  actual 
occupation  of 
that  Great  Am- 
erican Desert 
which,  after 
Long's  report, 
took  possession, 
on  our  maps,  of 
nearly  all  the 
country  whose 
history  is  Den- 
ver's prehistoric 
days. 

Then  came  Sublette  and  his  like,  and  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  the  Santa  Fe 
trail,  trappers,  Indians ;  and  these  also,  begin- 
ning about  1822,  would  furnish  material  for 
romance,  were  the  simple  story  thereof  not 
romance  enough. 

Bonneville  in   1832  vanished  from  sight  in 


SMOKY"  JONES. 


432  Denver 

the  Northwest  for  three  years ;  and  many 
others,  among  them  Irving,  Bonneville's  his- 
torian, sought  profit,  adventure,  or  knowledge 
in  the  new  land.  In  '42,  Fremont,  the  Path- 
finder, on  his  first  expedition  pushed  out 
nearly  to  the  site  of  Denver.  And  Fremont's 
travels,  the  romantic  note  in  them  heightened 
by  the  presence  of  Kit  Carson,  prince  of  pio- 
neers,— what  color  they  add  to  our  chronicles 
of  exploration  !  Five  times  he  set  forth.  Once 
he  camped  on  the  site  of  Denver,  with  160 
lodges  of  Arapahoe  Indians  near  by.  Once 
he  nearly  perished  with  all  his  party  in  the 
Sangre  de  Cristo  range. 

Kearney's  military  expedition  to  Santa  Fe 
at  the  time  of  the  Mexican  War ;  Gunnison's 
exploration  for  a  railroad  route  to  the  Pacific, 
in  1853  ;  Marcy's  incredible  midwinter  march 
from  Fort  Bridger,  across  the  very  backbone 
of  the  continent,  south  to  New  Mexico  ;  all 
these  were  great  deeds,  and  all  served  to  add  to 
that  knowledge  of  the  still  wild  West  which 
brought  about  its  final  conquest. 

To  speak  feelingly  of  the  Mormon  exodus, 
of  that  venture  into  the  western  wilderness 
of  a  few  men  of  our  own  blood  and  faith,  is  to 
be  misunderstood.  Some  day  that  flight  of 


Denver 


433 


a  few  brave  exiles  for  conscience  sake,  from 
their  brother  men  to  the  heart  of  a  continent, 
where  a  relentless  nature  seemed,  with  her 


THE  PRAIRIE  SCHOONER,  THE  PROPER  CREST  FOR  THE  COAT-OF-ARMS 
OF  THE  WEST. 

isolation  and  her  desolation,  doubly  equipped 
for  cruelty — some  day  that  flight,  worthily 
and  justly  told,  will  find  a  place  in  history.1 

1  See  chapter  on  Salt  Lake  City. 


434  Denver 

The  gold  seekers  of  California,  who  crossed 
by  thousands  the  land  the  outline  of  whose 
human  history  we  are  trying  to  sketch,  these 
have,  perhaps,  received  their  due. 

Such,  then,  in  broadest  outline,  is  the  back- 
ground of  Denver's  history.  It  is  almost  de- 
pressing to  consider  how  little  the  outline 
holds  of  that  recognition  element  which  makes 
"  historic  "  for  us  a  country,  a  scene,  a  person, 
an  event.  Here  is  a  wide  and  wonderful 
country  ;  here  have  been  done  great  deeds  by 
brave  and  true  men.  Coronado,  Escalante, 
Pike,  Lewis  and  Clark,  among  explorers ; 
Kit  Carson,  Jim  Bridger,  the  Bents,  Jim 
Baker,  among  scouts,  trappers,  and  trad- 
ers ;  the  names  could  be  multiplied  many 
times.  Their  deeds  are  fit  to  provoke  emula- 
tion or  national  pride.  But  mention  of  either 
names  or  deeds  stirs  the  emotions  only  of 
the  few.  This  is  inevitable.  They  are  not 
yet  part  of  universal  knowledge.  They  are 
not  yet  types  of  men  or  actions,  as  are  Ulys- 
ses, Agamemnon,  Hampden,  and  the  voyage 
of  the  Mayflower.  Things  are  not  "  historic  " 
until  later  generations  have  made  them  so. 

o 

Perhaps  the  dominance  of  Old  World  types 
in  literature  and  art,  together  with  the  swift 


Denver  435 

rush  of  affairs  of  the  passing  day,  will  crowd 
much  of  the  story  of  America's  development 
out  from  the  domain  of  history  as  known  to 
men  at  large.  If  so,  the  story  of  the  taking 
by  our  forebears  and  our  brothers  of  the  great 

• 


- 


FIRST  SCHOOLHOUSE  IN  DENVER. 


West  beyond  the  Mississippi  will  always  re- 
main as  little  "  historic,"  as  barren  in  its  emo- 
tional content,  as  it  is  to-day.  This  were  a 
pity,  tho'  perhaps  best.  But  even  then  it 
would  seem  proper  to  suggest,  in  the  bare 
outline  I  have  drawn,  the  historic  possibilities 
which  lie  back  of,  lead  up  to,  explain,  the 
Denver  of  to-day. 

It  is  1857  ;  the  country  has  become  vaguely 
known,  many  have  crossed  it ;  the  Mormons 
have  taken  possession  of  the  Salt  Lake  basin  ; 


436  Denver 

from  the  mountains  across  the  plains  there 
float  back  rumors  of  gold ;  and  the  region 
which  has  been  simply  a  desert  to  be  crossed 
begins  to  be  a  region  to  be  explored,  perhaps 
to  be  settled.  Who  first  found  gold  it  is  idle 
to  inquire.  A  party  of  Cherokees  from  the 
gold  regions  of  Georgia  were  perhaps  the  first 
to  get  traces  on  the  Platte.  Certain  men  of 
Lawrence,  Kansas,  prophets  perhaps,  boomers 
probably,  certainly  addicted  to  the  town-site 
habit,  and  abounding  in  hope,  went  up  the  Ar- 
kansas in  1858  ;  tried  to  start  a  town  on  Monu- 
ment Creek  under  the  shadow  of  Pike's  Peak  ; 
wearied  soon  of  waiting  for  a  population  which 
did  not  come,  and  crossed  the  divide  north  to 
the  Platte  ;  staked  out  a  town,  Montana,  on 
that  stream  a  few  miles  above  the  site  of  Den- 
ver, and  disbanded.  Of  this  party  a  few  moved 
down  the  Platte  to  the  mouth  of  Cherry  Creek, 
and  there  in  the  bottom,  among  the  cotton- 
woods,  just  where  the  old  military  road  crossed 
the  creek,  laid  out  the  town  of  St.  Charles. 
Another  party,  from  Iowa,  in  the  same  year, 
settled  across  the  creek  on  its  west  side  and 
soon  laid  out  a  town  and  called  it  Auraria. 
Then  came  another  party  over  the  divide  from 
the  Arkansas,  found  the  St.  Charles  town-site 


Denver  437 

promoters  were  absent,  saw  the  city  that  was 
to  be,  jumped  the  site,  and  organized  a  com- 
pany to  build  a  town  thereon  to  be  called  Den- 
ver in  honor  of  the  then  Governor  of  Kansas. 
And  so,  in  the  winter  of  1858-59  Denver  found 
itself,  on  what  proved  to  be  "  Section  33  and 
the  west  half  of  section  34,  in  township  3  south 
of  range  68  west  of  the  6th  principal  meridian." 
How  fatal  to  the  romantic  element  in  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  Western  city  are  the  transit  and 
the  chain  !  What  can  there  be  of  mystery  or 
poetry  in  "  Sec.  33  and  W.  |  of  Sec.  34,  Tp.  3 
S.  of  R.  68  W.  6th  P.  M.  "  ? 

Denver  was  a  rival  of  Auraria.  Her  su- 
premacy was  settled  early  in  1859  by  thirty 
wagons  which  came  up  the  Platte  and  unloaded 
their  merchandise  on  the  Denver  side  of  Cherry 
Creek.  In  the  spring  of  1859  a  large  com- 
pany, perhaps  1000,  were  already  camped  in  and 
about  the  new  towns.  The  Pike's  Peak  excite- 
ment became  intense.  A  new  gold  fever  was 
on.  Mr.  William  N.  Byers  reached  Denver 
April  21,  1859,  with  a  printing  outfit  and  issued 
the  first  number  of  the  first  paper  printed  in 
Colorado,  April  23d.  On  his  way  across  he  met 
the  returning  tide.  Report  says  1 50,000  started 
that  spring  across  the  plains  ;  50,000  turned 


438  Denver 

back  ;  100,000  went  on  to  the  mountains  ;  not 
over  40,000  of  them  stayed.  The  early  months 
of  1859  were  troublous  times.  Foolish,  reck- 
less gold  seekers,  led  West  on  half-knowledge, 
tried  to  lay  the  blame  for  their  own  folly  on  the 
shoulders  of  others.  Gold  in  paying  quanti- 
ties was  as  yet  far  from  common.  Horace 
Greeley  crossed  the  plains  in  July,  looked  over 
the  ground  with  care,  reported  favorably  on 
the  country  in  the  Tribune,  and,  in  good  local 
phrase,  "gave  Denver  the  best  advertisement 
she  ever  had." 

The  city,  now  under  way,  attained  little  im- 
portance until  after  1870.  Rival  trade  centres 
attracted  attention.  Mining  camps  scattered 
through  the  mountains  drew  most  of  the  popu- 
lation. After  the  Leadville  excitement  in  1878 
and  1879,  it  rose  'm  1880  to  35,000,  by  fairly 
steady  growth  to  106,000  in  1890,  was  checked 
by  the  panic  and  hard  times  about  1893,  and 
yet  rose  to  133,000  in  1900. 

Once  established  as  the  leading  distributing 
point  of  the  mining  regions  of  the  New  West 
the  city's  growth  was  assured,  and  followed  in 
the  main  the  lines  of  many  other  Western  cities. 
Peculiar  to  itself  were  a  few  incidents  due  to 
its  position,  to  ignorance  of  the  climate,  its 


FACSIMILE  LETTER  FROM  WM.  N.  BYERS,  THE  FOUNDER  OF 
THE  "ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  NEWS." 

439 


44°  Denver 

isolation  and  the  difficulty  of  extending  Eastern 
railways  to  so  remote  a  point.  Early  in  1863 
a  great  fire  destroyed  much  of  the  business 
portion  of  the  city.  The  summer  following,  the 
plains  were  burned  by  a  terrible  drought.  The 
barrenness  of  the  wide  stretches  about  the  city 
was  intensified.  To  this  day  the  sun-burnt 
plains  of  midsummer  sweep  up  to  Denver's 
very  door-yards,  mock  at  the  blue  sky  above 
them,  and  speak  unutterable  things  of  hunger, 
thirst,  and  death.  In  the  early  '6o's  it  was  easy 
to  imagine  that  they  spoke  in  earnest.  Then 
came  a  winter,  cold  beyond  all  experience. 
Many  suffered.  Cattle  died.  The  pride  some 
had  felt  over  the  balminess  of  previous  win- 
ters was  forgotten.  With  early  spring,  Cherry 
Creek,  the  miserable,  despised  bed  of  sand 
which  crept  through  the  town,  scorned  as  a 
possible  stream  and  used  for  building  sites 
over  all  its  wide  bottom,  rose  in  fury,  rolled 
down  from  the  divide,  swept  away  the  cheap 
bridges  that  simply  served  to  aggravate 
the  flood,  killed  twenty  persons,  and  de- 
stroyed nearly  a  million  dollars'  worth  of 
property.  Nor  was  this  the  end  of  troubles. 
For  in  1864  the  Indians  planned  a  general 
massacre,  killed  a  few  people  near  Denver,  de- 


Denver 


441 


stroyed  stage  stations,  cut  off  communication 
with  the  East,  and  left  Denver  unspeakably 
alarmed  and  with  only  six  weeks'  supply  of 
food. 


PROSPECTING  PARTY,  RICO,  COLORADO,  1880. 

In  these  first  years  gold  seemed  the  one  ex- 
cuse for  the  white  man's  presence  in  Colorado. 
Several  million  dollars  were  taken  out  from 
easily  worked  placer  mines  before  1863.  The 
supply  then  seemed  exhausted.  All  efforts  to 
get  the  gold  from  veins  were  ineffectual. 
Millions  were  spent  by  the  overzealous  in 
machinery  and  mills  not  adapted  to  the  coun- 
try's needs.  But  over  this,  as  over  all  other 


442  Denver 

obstacles,  the  triumph  was  sure;  and  by  1871 
new  and  proper  processes  of  mining  and  ore 
reducing  had  been  successfully  adopted. 

The  fertility  of  Colorado  soil  under  irrigation 
was  not  realized  fully  for  nearly  a  decade  after 
the  founding  of  Denver.  But  before  1870  the 
agricultural  possibilities  were  demonstrated ; 
the  cattle  industry  continued  to  thrive  ;  and 
the  region  north  of  Denver  lying  under  the 
several  streams  which  issue  from  the  moun- 
tains within  sight  of  the  city  began  to  grow 
into  the  garden  spot  it  now  is,  and  to  lend 
stability  to  Denver's  factors  of  growth. 

The  Union  Pacific  reached  the  city  via 
Cheyenne  in  June,  1870,  and  the  Kansas  Pa- 
cific soon  after.  Of  that  wonderful  railway  to 
whose  growth  Denver  owes  so  much,  the  Den- 
ver &  Rio  Grande,  the  first  rails  were  laid 
in  1871. 

What  is  now  Colorado  was  variously  known 
in  early  days  of  its  settlement  as  "  Pike's 
Peak,"  "  Arapahoe  County,"  "Jefferson  Terri- 
tory." The  story  of  the  settlement  of  its 
governmental  difficulties  ;  its  miners'  and  its 
people's  courts  ;  its  independent  government  ; 
the  dramatic  career  of  that  prophet  of  the 
great  divide,  William  Gilpin,  first  Governor 


Denver  443 

of  Colorado,  in  his  headstrong  yet  wise  hand- 
ling of  difficult  problems  in  the  opening  days 
of  the  Civil  War, — all  this  is  full  of  interest, 


RICO,  COLORADO,  IN  188O.     A  TYPICAL  MINING  CAMP. 

of  excitement,  of  adventure,  is  instructive  to 
the  student  of  institutions,  and  full  of  con- 
firmation for  those  who  have  faith  in  the  civic 
genius  of  the  American  people. 

The  city  of  Denver  lies  fifteen  miles  east  of 


444 


Denver 


the  mountains  on  the  Platte.  Its  elevation  is 
5280  feet  above  sea  level.  It  is  the  meeting- 
point  of  nine  railroads.  It  has  165  miles  of 
street  railways.  It  is  well  paved  and  its  health 

is  well  cared  for. 
In  parks, church- 
es, journals, 
schools,  hospi- 
tals, banks,  and 
kindred  institu- 
tions it  is  well 
supplied.  Its 
manufactured 
products,  includ- 
ing smelter  out- 
put, amount  to 
over  $50,000,- 
ooo  a  year. 

What  one 
may  call  the  nat- 
ural history  of 

Denver's  people  is  interesting  and,  perhaps, 
explanatory  of  some  things  in  its  history.  To 
it  have  come  in  good  measure  the  vigorous 
and  energetic.  They  have  brought  with  them 
the  ideas  and  customs  of  all  parts  of  the 
United  States.  In  the  first  two  decades,  the 


WILLIAM  QILPIN. 


446  Denver 

formative  period,  about  half  of  all  comers  were 
from  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley,  largely  of 
New  England  descent ;  and  one  fourth  each 
from  the  extreme  East  and  the  South.  Among 
these  were  many  invalids.  All  were  young  ; 
and  old  men  are  still  rare  in  Denver.  Put 
these  elements  together  in  a  climate  of  sun- 
shine and  dry  tonic  air  ;  separate  them  by 
six  hundred  miles  from  all  that  is  old  and  con- 
ventional ;  give  them  wide  opportunity  of 
choice  in  occupation, —  agriculture,  stock  rais- 
ing, mining  of  precious  metals,  iron,  coal,  and 
stone,  and  the  building  of  a  city  and  a  State  ; 
let  their  city  be — much  as  Paris  is  France — po- 
litically, socially,  and  financially,  the  entire 
State,  containing,  as  it  does,  nearly  one  third 
of  all  the  latter's  population  ;  —  and  you  may 
look  for,  and  you  will  find,  courage,  swiftness 
of  execution,  easy  adjustment  of  conflicting 
ideas  and  habits,  tolerance  on  all  matters 
save  those  affecting  general  local  interests, 
where  a  certain  natural  State  patriotism 
blooms  into  a  fine  bigotry,  quick  adoption  of 
all  modern  improvements  in  living,  and  a 
readiness  to  try  any  promising  social  experi- 
ment. You  would  expect  politics  to  be  con- 
tinually threatened  with  reform  ;  an  occasional 


Denver 


447 


economic  heresy  to  get  a  passing  boom  ;  news- 
papers to  be  wide-awake,  vituperative,  and  not 
greatly  influential.  And  you  would  expect  to 
find  Denver,  as  you  do  find  it,  a  brilliant,  ac- 
tive, inspiring  city,  full  of  promise  in  itself  and 
possessed  by  a  people  who  —  being  chiefly 
of  American  stock  and  wrought  upon  by  a 
climate  which  is  the  climate  of  the  States  in- 
tensified —  in  their  alertness  and  in  their  in- 
tensity perhaps  speak  of  the  American  citizen 
as  this  continent  of  ours  will  sometime  mould 
him. 


SANTA  F 

THE  CITY  OF  THE  HOLY  FAITH 

BY  FREDERICK  WEBB  HODGE 

THERE  is  probably  no  settlement  within  our 
domain  over  the  history  of  which  so  much 
mystery  has  hovered  as  the  capital  of  New 
Mexico.  Some  historical  writers  early  claimed 
for  the  ancient  city  a  reputation  for  antiquity 
exceeding  that  of  St.  Augustine,  Florida  ;  others 
were  content  to  give  it  second  place  in  point 
of  age,  and  this  position  it  really  holds,  not- 
withstanding the  strong  but  groundless  belief, 
still  somewhat  prevalent,  that  Santa  Fe  had  a 
teeming  aboriginal  population  when  the  Span- 
iards under  Coronado  first  made  their  appear- 
ance in  New  Mexico  in  i  540. 

The  actual  founder  of  Santa  Fe,  so  far  as  we 
can  determine,  was  Juan  de  Ofiate,  a  wealthy 
resident  of  Zacatecas,  who  married  Dofta  Isa- 
bel, granddaughter  of  Hernan  Cortes,  and 

449 


45°  Santa  F£ 

great-granddaughter  of  Montezuma,  the  Aztec 
chief.  In  the  autumn  of  1595  Onate  was 
granted  authority  and  viceregal  support  to 
raise  an  army  and  to  explore  and  colonize  New 
Mexico,  but  the  intrigues  of  his  rivals  caused 
many  delays  and  it  was  not  until  February, 
1598,  that,  with  a  force  of  some  four  hundred 
colonists,  accompanied  by  eighty-three  wagons 
and  seven  thousand  cattle,  he  was  ready  to 
proceed  from  the  Rio  Conchas  in  Chihuahua, 
bound  for  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte  and  New 
Mexico. 

It  is  not  essential  to  follow  the  little  army  in 
its  northward  journeying  up  the  river,  across 
the  terrible  Jornada  del  Muerto, —  where,  as 
scores  of  times  later,  the  bones  of  some  were 
left  to  whiten  the  trail.  The  new  country  was 
formally  taken  possession  of,  for  the  fifth  time 
at  least,  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Spain,  and 
on  July  n,  1598,  Onate  with  his  vanguard 
reached  the  still  inhabited  Indian  pueblo  of 
San  Juan,  some  thirty  miles  northwest  of  the 
present  Santa  Fe. 

A  month  later  work  was  begun  with  Indian 
aid  on  the  construction  of  ditches  to  supply 
water  for  a  new  settlement,  the  site  for  which 
had  been  selected  at  the  confluence  of  the  Rio 


45 2  Santa  Fe 

Chamawith  the  Rio  Grande,  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  latter  stream,  where  the  hamlet  of  Cham- 
ita  now  stands.  On  August  23d  the  erection  of 
a  chapel  for  this  new  town  of  San  Francisco  de 
los  Espaftoles  was  begun ;  it  was  finished 
September  /th,  and  on  the  following  day  was 
consecrated. 

This  town,  which  was  built  on  the  site  of  the 
abandoned  Tewa  pueblo  of  Yukewingge  (or 
Yuqueyunqueas  Coronado's  chroniclers  called 
it  in  1541),  was  thus  the  first  European  settle- 
ment in  New  Mexico,  and  the  second  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States.  In  1599  the  vil- 
lage became  known  as  San  Gabriel,  a  name 
which  it  retained  for  several  years. 

The  exact  date  of  the  founding  of  Santa  Fe 
is  not  known,  ignorance  of  the  fact  probably 
being  due  to  the  destruction  by  the  Indians  of 
the  local  Spanish  archives  in  1680.  In 
October,  1604,  Oflate  started  on  a  jour- 
ney to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  California, 
returning  to  San  Gabriel  on  April  25, 
1605.  The  return  route  took  the  explorer 
past  El  Morro,  or  "  Inscription  Rock,"  thirty- 
five  miles  east  of  Zufti,  where  he  carved  his 
name  on  April  i6th.  It  seems  likely  that  the 
building  of  Santa  Fe  was  begun  shortly  after- 


Santa  F£  453 

ward,  although  there  is  also  good  authority  that 
San  Gabriel  remained  the  only  settlement  of 
Europeans  until  1608,  in  which  year,  it  is  said, 
the  Crown  fixed  the  governmental  regulations 
of  the  province  and  assigned  a  salary  of  two 
thousand  ducats  a  year  to  the  Governor,  who 
immediately  departed  for  Santa  Fe.  About 
this  time  Ofiate  was  relieved  by  Governor  Pedro 
de  Peralta. 

The  prospects  of  the  new  capital  during  its 
infancy  were  not  promising.  Although  the 
Franciscan  missionaries  manifested  such  zeal 
that  by  1617  eleven  churches  had  been  estab- 
lished in  New  Mexico  and  fourteen  thousand 
natives  are  said  to  have  been  baptized,  there 
were  only  forty-eight  soldiers  and  colonists  in 
the  entire  province.  On  January  3,  1617,  the 
King  was  petitioned  to  grant  succor  to  the 
settlement,  and  by  royal  decree  of  May  20, 
1620,  his  Majesty  ordered  the  Viceroy  to 
render  the  necessary  aid,  with  the  result  that  by 
1630  it  was  recorded  by  Fray  Alonso  de 
Benavides  that  the  town  contained  250  Span- 
iards (some  fifty  of  whom  were  armed),  in 
addition  to  seven  hundred  Indians,  "  so  that, 
between  Spaniards,  half-breeds,  and  Indians, 
there  must  be  a  thousand  souls."  The 


454  Santa  F£ 

expense  of  the  garrison  was  not  borne  by  the 
Crown,  but  by  means  derived  from  an  encomi- 
enda,  or  trusteeship  over  the  Indians,  who 
paid  an  annual  tribute  of  a  vara  of  cotton 
cloth  and  a  fanega  of  corn  per  family  in  return 
for  their  teaching  and  "  civilization." 

As  at  San  Gabriel,  among  the  first  struc- 
tures reared  in  "the  new  town  was  a  chapel. 
The  first  edifice  of  this  character  was  an  un- 
pretentious affair,  a  mere  hut,  which  served 
its  purpose  until  1622,  when  Benavides,  hav- 
ing become  Father  Custodian  of  the  province, 
commenced  to  build  a  new  church  and  monas- 
tery which,  after  its  completion  in  1627, 
"  would  shine  in  whatsoever  place."  This  is 
believed  to  have  been  the  Parroquia,  which 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  cathedral ; 
indeed,  some  of  the  walls  of  the  old  building 
are  incorporated  in  the  present  structure. 
The  chapel  of  San  Miguel,  greatly  modified 
in  recent  years,  dates  from  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century ;  while  the  Capilla  de 
los  Soldados,  which  formerly  faced  the  plaza, 
opposite  the  Palace,  with  its  grand  altar  tab- 
let erected  by  Governor  Francisco  Antonio 
Marin  del  Valle  in  1761,  probably  dates  from 
about  1730. 


456  Santa  Fe 

As  already  mentioned,  there  is  no  ground 
for  the  belief  that  Santa  Fe  was  established  at 
a  populous  Indian  pueblo, — the  "capital"  of 
all  the  village  dwellers  of  New  Mexico, — the 
only  excuse  for  such  belief,  still  popular  in 
New  Mexico,  being  that,  in  prehistoric  times, 
the  town  was  the  site  of  at  least  one  Indian 
pueblo. 

Of  the  history  of  Santa  Fe  between  Bena- 
vides's  time  (1622-1630)  and  the  year  1680 
not  much  is  known.  More  than  a  dozen  gov- 
ernors served  the  kingdom  of  Spain  in  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  colony  dur- 
ing this  period,  and  knowledge  of  the  geog- 
raphy was  somewhat  increased  by  expeditions 
from  the  seat  of  government  into  parts  little 
known.  The  Pueblo  Indians,  always  friendly 
when  well  treated,  cherished  the  religion  of 
their  fathers,  which  the  Spaniards  tried  in  every 
way  to  supplant,  so  that  comparatively  little 
progress  was  made  in  this  rich  missionary  field 
aside  from  the  erection  of  massive  churches 
of  stone  and  adobe  and  the  baptism  of  many 
of  the  natives.  Jealousy  arose  between  the 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  so 
bitter  became  the  feeling  that  the  friars  were 
accused  of  inciting  a  rebellion  of  the  Indians 


SAN  MIGUEL  CHAPEL  BEFORE  RECONSTRUCTION. 


457 


458  Santa  F£ 

in  1642,  which  resulted  in  the  killing  of  Gov- 
ernor Luis  Rosas.  Henceforward  the  hatred 
of  the  natives  for  the  whites  became  deeper 
and  deeper  ;  many  of  the  natives  were  hanged 
from  time  to  time  for  alleged  religious  of- 
fences, and  in  1675  many  others  were  whipped 
and  imprisoned.  From  this  time  affairs  as- 
sumed such  a  serious  aspect  that  the  seden- 
tary tribes,  under  the  leadership  of  Pope,  a 
native  of  San  Juan  pueblo,  finally  determined 
to  throw  off  the  Spanish  yoke  by  effecting 
an  organization  that  is  still  noteworthy  in 
Indian  annals. 

Pope  was  a  medicine-man  of  no  mean  ca- 
pacity. His  story  of  the  wrongs  of  his  people 
fell  on  eager  ears,  and  it  was  not  long  ere  his 
plan  to  exterminate  the  Spaniards  received 
support  from  all  the  northerly  Pueblo  tribes. 
The  day  of  reckoning  was  to  have  been  Au- 
gust 1 3th,  while  the  mystic  means  of  com- 
munication was  a  knotted  yucca  cord  which 
was  dispatched  by  fleet  runners  to  the  outly- 
ing tribes.  Although  all  were  enjoined  to  the 
strictest  secrecy,  treachery  lurked  in  the  In- 
dian ranks,  and  before  the  time  allotted  for 
the  outbreak  the  Spaniards  became  aware  of 
its  approach  through  neophytes  loyal  to  their 


Santa  F£  459 

cause.  Pope*  saw  that  immediate  action  was 
necessary  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  designs ; 
news  that  the  secret  had  been  divulged  was 
heralded  afar  in  true  Indian  fashion,  and  on 
August  loth,  three  days  before  the  time  ori- 
ginally fixed,  more  than  four  hundred  of  the 
twenty-five  hundred  settlers,  soldiers,  and 
friars  were  cruelly  massacred. 

On  the  1 3th  the  refugees  at  Santa  Cruz  were 
taken  to  Santa  Fe,  and  on  the  day  following 
the  enemy  appeared  in  the  suburb  of  Analco, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  chapel  of  San 
Miguel,  which  had  been  erected  for  the  Tlas- 
calan  or  Mexican  members  of  the  colony.  A 
parley  was  held  with  a  deputation  of  the  In- 
dians, who  bore  a  white  cross  of  peace  and  a 
red  cross  of  war  :  of  these  they  gave  the  Span- 
iards their  choice,  but  on  condition  that  if 
the  former  were  selected  their  country  must  be 
immediately  evacuated.  Every  effort  was 
made  by  the  Spaniards  to  bring  about  peace, 
but  the  Indians,  encouraged  by  the  success  of 
their  bloody  enterprise,  were  determined  to 
drive  the  Spaniards  forever  from  the  home  of 
their  fathers. 

Failing  in  his  efforts  at  conciliation,  Gov- 
ernor Otermin  endeavored  to  dislodge  the 


460  Santa  Fe 

natives  from  the  outskirts ;  but  already  the 
warriors  had  arrived  by  hundreds,  and  the  first 
desperate  effort  of  the  Spaniards  to  drive  off 
the  natives  resulted  in  their  own  retirement 
to  the  great  adobe  Palace  where  the  surviving 
women  and  children  had  already  taken  refuge. 
The  siege  continued  until  the  igth.  The 
Indians  grew  bolder  with  the  continued  arrival 
of  warriors  until  three  thousand  were  massed 
in  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  The  city  was 
beleaguered ;  the  chapel  of  San  Miguel  had 
been  destroyed,,  and  the  water-supply  of  the 
town  cut  off  ;  consequently  the  trembling  thou- 
sand within  the  Palace  walls  under  the  protec- 
tion of  only  a  hundred  armed  men  were  in 
desperate  straits.  The  iQth  passed.  Otermin 
and  his  imprisoned  colonists  spent  the  night 
in  planning  the  escape  which  seemed  almost 
impossible.  On  the  following  day  the  brave 
hundred  made  a  sortie  which  met  with  such 
success  that  three  hundred  of  the  enemy  were 
slain,  and  nearly  fifty  captured  and  afterward 
hanged  in  the  plaza,  while  the  main  body  was 
driven  in  confusion  to  the  heights.  The  In- 
dians became  demoralized  by  this  first  blow, 
thus  affording  the  Spaniards  the  opportunity, 
on  August  2ist,  of  gathering  their  belongings, 


Santa  Fe  461 

and  starting  on  their  march  of  six  weeks 
down  the  river,  under  a  midsummer's  sun  and 
through  a  ravaged  country,  to  -the  mission  of 
Guadalupe  near  the  present  El  Paso,  Texas. 

The  Pueblos  were  at  last  in  possession  of 
Santa  Fe  and  of  the  dearly  bought  independence 
which  they  had  so  long  been  craving.  Every- 
thing Spanish  was  laid  aside  under  strict  taboo 
—  the  language  of  the  white  man  was  to  be 
forgotten  and  his  religion  forever  buried  ;  his 
houses  of  worship  and  the  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical archives  were  to  be  fed  to  the  flames,  and 
their  own  rites  revived  in  the  ceremonial 
chambers  which  the  Spaniards  had  caused  to 
be  abandoned  ;  even  the  clothing  and  the 
crops  of  the  foreigners  were  to  be  discarded, 
and  only  indigenous  products  consumed  as  of 
old,  while  soap-weed  and  the  rivulet  which 
flows  through  Santa  Fe  provided  the  means  for 
effacing  their  baptism  into  Christianity.  The 
Palace  (which  then  occupied  the  entire  block 
north  of  the  plaza)  seems  to  have  been  at 
least  partially  spared  and  was  occupied  by  the 
Tanos  of  Galisteo,  who  built  a  kiva  or  cere- 
monial chamber  in  its  courtyard. 

More  than  one  attempt  was  made  to  recon- 
quer the  province  and  to  re-establish  the  seat 


462  Santa  Fe 

of  government  during  the  next  few  years,  but 
nothing  of  marked  importance  was  accom- 
plished until  after  Diego  de  Vargas  Zapata 
Lujan  Ponce  de  Leon  became  Governor  in 
1691.  Accompanied  by  some  sixty  soldiers, 
one  hundred  Indians,  and  three  friars,  Vargas 
started  up  the  Rio  Grande  from  El  Paso 
August  21,  1692,  and  on  September  i3th  ap- 
peared before  Santa  Fe  with  part  of  his  force. 
The  fortified  Tanos  at  first  showed  hostility, 
but  moral  suasion  soon  resulted  in  effecting 
their  surrender  and  even  in  inducing  the  apos- 
tates to  renew  allegiance  and  to  submit  to  bap- 
tism. Vargas  then  withdrew  for  the  purpose 
of  extending  the  conquest  over  other  parts, 
and  it  was  not  until  October,  1693,  that  he 
was  enabled  to  gather  his  force  of  a  hundred 
soldiers,  and  to  renew  the  journey  from  El 
Paso  with  the  seventy  families  and  seventeen 
friars  (about  eight  hundred  souls)  who  were  to 
form  the  new  colony.  On  December  i6th 
the  little  army  entered  Santa  Fe  under  the 
very  banner  borne  by  Oftate  nearly  a  century 
before.  Although  the  Tanos  were  now  found 
to  be  friendly  in  the  main,  they  manifested 
little  enthusiasm  in  providing  the  Spaniards 
with  food,  or  in  rendering  aid  in  the  restora- 


Santa  F£  463 

tion  of  San  Miguel  Chapel,  offering,  however, 
their  pagan  kiva  for  the  white  man's  worship. 

It  was  midwinter,  and,  the  altitude  being 
over  seven  thousand  feet,  many  children  per- 
ished. As  the  Indians  were  occupying  the 
official  quarters  and  such  of  the  dwellings  as 
had  not  been  razed,  they  were  ordered  back 
to  Galisteo,  but  refused  to  go.  Their  strong- 
hold was  attacked  ;  re-enforcements  from  the 
kindred  Tewas  arrived,  but  the  combined 
force  was  overpowered,  seventy  prisoners 
were  made  an  example  of,  and  four  hundred 
women  and  children  were  distributed  among 
the  colonists.  Hostilities  continued  with  the 
outlying  tribes  until  September,  1694,  but 
before  the  year  closed  the  missionaries  were 
enabled  to  resume  their  fields  of  labor. 

The  winter  of  1695-96  was  one  of  dis- 
content by  reason  of  a  failure  of  the  crops 
during  the  previous  season.  This  probably 
in  large  measure  was  the  cause  of  another 
revolt  in  the  following  June,  when  twenty- 
six  Spaniards,  including  five  friars,  were  mur- 
dered ;  and  not  until  the  new  century  dawned 
were  the  last  embers  of  the  rebellion  smoth- 
ered. Vargas's  term  as  Governor  expired  in 
1696  ;  but  he  remained  in  Santa  Fe,  where 


464  Santa  Fe 

serious  charges  were  preferred  against  him 
by  his  successor,  Cubero,  which  resulted  in 
his  imprisonment  until  1700.  In  1703  he 
was  reappointed  Governor,  but  died  April 
8,  1704,  and  was  buried  in  the  Parroquia, 
which  meanwhile  had  been  restored  to  its  for- 
mer condition.  San  Miguel  Chapel  remained 
in  ruins  until  1708,  when  its  restoration  was 
commenced  by  Governor  Jose  Chacon  Medina 
Salazar  y  Villaseftor,  Marques  de  Penuela. 
The  edifice  was  completed  in  1710,  as  the 
following  inscription  on  a  gallery  beam  still 
testifies  : 

EL  SENOR  MARQUE'S  DE  LA 
PENUELA  HIZO  ESTA  FABRICA  : 
EL  ALF£REZ  REAL  DON  AGUSTIN 

FLORES  VERGARA  SU  CRIADO.       AffO 
DE  1710. 

The  eighteenth  century  was  marked  by  ex- 
peditions from  Santa  Fe  in  various  directions 
(including  one  in  the  year  of  American  In- 
dependence that  resulted  in  the  discovery  of 
Utah  Lake),  which  added  materially  to  geo- 
graphic knowledge  of  the  period  ;  by  an 
extension  of  missionary  work  among  some 
tribes  and  the  chastisement  of  others  who  had 
been  conducting  their  raids  uncomfortably 
close  to  the  capital  with  its  little  garrison  of 


Santa  Fe 


465 


eighty  soldiers  ;  and  by  controversies  between 
the  authorities  of  Church  and  State  which  did 
not  tend  to  promote  the  peace  of  mind  of 
either  side  or  of  the  colonists. 


SAN   MIGUEL  CHAPEL  IN  1899. 

FROM   A   PHOTOGRAPH    BY   A.    C.    VROMAN,    PASADENA,    CAL. 

In  1767  a  freshet  so  seriously  threatened 
the  town  that  the  citizens  were  called  to  divert 
the  course  of  the  stream  and  thus  saved  the 
settlement.  As  in  the  case  of  a  previous 


466  Santa  Fe 

proposal  to  move  the  capital  to  Sia,  it  was 
planned  in  1780  to  transfer  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment to  Santo  Domingo,  but  Governor 
Ugarte  decided  against  the  project  and  ex- 
pended two  thousand  pesos  in  improving  the 
plan  of  the  town  and  in  establishing  a  presidio 
therein.  Before  the  middle  of  the  century 
French-Canadian  traders  had  found  their  way 
to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  sporadic  bartering 
with  the  plains  Indians  gradually  developed 
into  the  important  industry  later  known  as 
the  "  commerce  of  the  prairies."  A  brisk 
trade  also  sprang  up  between  New  Mexico 
and  Chihuahua,  which  in  1780  aggregated 
$30,000  in  value.  Santa  Fe,  therefore,  at 
an  early  period  became  the  seat  of  an  in- 
land commerce,  mainly  in  sheep,  wool,  wine, 
and  pelts.  In  1804  William  Morrison  of 
Kaskaskia  dispatched  to  New  Mexico  a  con- 
signment of  goods,  which  were  confiscated  ; 
various  attempts  to  introduce  merchandise 
from  the  United  States  during  the  next  few 
years  shared  a  like  fate,  the  participants 
usually  being  imprisoned.  This  action  on  the 
part  of  the  New  Mexican  officials  was  later 
probably  more  or  less  due  to  the  ill-feeling 
engendered  by  the  exploit  of  Lieutenant 


Santa  F£ 


467 


Zebulon  M.  Pike,  who  in  January,  1807,  while 
conducting  an  exploration  under  military 
orders,  erected  a  stockade  fort  in  Spanish 
territory.  He 
and  his  com- 
mand were  ar- 
rested, con- 
ducted to 
Santa  Fe,  and 
later  taken  to 
Chihuahua  as 
prisoners. 

But  all  ef- 
forts to  prevent 
the  inroads  of 
traders  from 
the  United 
States  were  in 
vain  ;  even  the 
almost  prohibi- 
tory duty,  for  a 
time,  of  $500  per  load  of  merchandise,  regard- 
less of  its  value,  was  overcome,  and  the 
overland  trade  conducted  by  way  of  the  great 
Santa  Fe  trail,  first  by  pack-animals  from 
Franklin,  and  later  by  wagon  from  Indepen- 
dence, Missouri,  increased  from  $15, ooo  in  1822 


CHRISTOPHER  ("  KIT"  )  CARSON. 


468  Santa  Fe 

to  $750,000  in  1844.  The  names  of  McKnight, 
Pursley,  Choteau,  Beard,  Lalande,  Chambers, 
Cooper,  the  Bents,  Joel  Walker,  Sublette, 
Kit  Carson,  and  many  other  hardy  pioneers 
will  long  be  remembered  in  the  early  history 
of  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail. 

Santa  Fe  had  so  long  been  the  hotbed  of  re- 
volt that  its  inhabitants  must  have  been  lonely 
for  several  years  without  one  to  engage  their 
attention.  The  rebellion  of  1837  was  due  to 
political  intrigue  for  which  a  former  Governor, 
Manuel  Armijo,  was  held  to  be  largely  respon- 
sible. The  Pueblo  Indians  participated  as 
usual,  and  the  Governor,  Albino  Perez,  as  well 
as  the  chief  justice  and  nearly  a  dozen  others, 
were  wantonly  murdered.  Santa  Fe  once  more 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  who  elected 
Jose  Gonzalez,  a  Taos  Indian,  as  Governor. 
Armijo  now  deserted  the  rebel  cause,  and,  rais- 
ing a  sufficient  force  to  overcome  the  Gonzalez 
faction,  declared  himself  the  administrative 
head.  The  revolt  was  quelled  in  January,  1838, 
Gonzalez  and  several  of  his  adherents  paying 
the  death  penalty,  while  Armijo's  "  loyalty " 
was  rewarded  by  a  confirmation  of  his  self- 
imposed  governorship,  which  he  retained  for 
eight  years. 


Santa  Fe  469 

Meanwhile  the  Texas  troubles  had  been 
brewing,  and  discontent  prevailed  in  that  quar- 
ter over  boundary  disputes,  and  because  the 
large  Santa  Fe  trade  came  and  went  by  the 
northern  route.  In  1841,  President  Lamar 
equipped  a  force,  known  as  the  Texan  Santa 
Fe  Expedition,  consisting  of  three  hundred 
rangers  under  General  McLeod,  for  the  main 
purpose  of  taking  New  Mexican  affairs  into 
their  own  hands ;  but  before  reaching  the 
capital  the  entire  "  army "  was  captured  by 
Armijo's  militia,  their  belongings  confiscated, 
and  the  command  marched  to  Mexico,  where 
they  were  released  in  June,  1842. 

The  Mexican  War  and  American  occupancy 
followed  closely  on  these  exciting  episodes. 
Save  during  the  brief  periods  of  the  arrival  and 
departure  of  the  caravans  at  Santa  Fe,  with  the 
resultant  hubbub  and  flow  of  gold,  the  capital 
was  more  dead  than  alive.  The  people,  for  the 
greater  part,  were  densely  ignorant  ;  in  1832 
there  were  only  half  a  dozen  schools  in  the 
whole  territory,  and  although  the  salaries  of 
the  Santa  Fe  teachers  aggregated  only  $500  in 
that  year,  even  this  sum,  from  lack  of  funds,  was 
unavailable  in  1834  and  the  schools  were 
closed.  By  1844  the  only  schools  were  "of  the 


4?o  Santa  Fe 

lowest  primary  class,"  and  a  keen  observer  as- 
serted that  three  fourths  of  the  people  were  il- 
literates. Santa  Fe  was  without  a  newspaper, 
although  a  sheet  called  El  Creptisculo  ("  The 
Dawn  ")  was  printed  at  Taos  for  four  weeks  in 
1835  on  tne  only  press  then  in  the  territory 
of  seventy  thousand  inhabitants.  Possibly  the 
press  later  found  its  way  to  Santa  Fe  to  be- 
come the  principal  part  of  the  equipment  of  a 
"  government  printing  office  "  which  existed  in 
one  end  of  the  Palace  in  1846,  and  from  which 
Kearny  published  his  "  Code,"  the  first  Spanish- 
English  production  of  the  territory. 

In  its  appearance  Santa  Fe  had  changed  but 
little  since  1807,  when  Pike  described  its  aggre- 
gation of  low  adobe  houses  as  resembling 
from  a  distance  a  fleet  of  flat-bottomed  Ohio 
river-boats.  The  Palace  occupied  then,  as  it 
did  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  and  does 
to-day,  the  northern  side  of  the  plaza.  Besides 
being  the  only  building  in  New  Mexico  that 
could  boast  the  luxury  of  glass  windows,  it 
contained  the  governmental  offices  as  of  yore, 
as  well  as  quarters  for  the  guard  and  the  gov- 
ernment printing  office.  In  Pike's  time  the 
opposite  side  of  the  plaza  was  occupied  by  the 
houses  of  the  clergy  and  the  public  officers,  in 


Santa  Fe  47 r 

addition  to  the  military  chapel,  but  with  the 
advent  of  trade  these  gave  way,  before  1846, 
to  the  shops  of  merchants  and  traders. 

General    Stephen     W.     Kearny    left    Fort 
Leavenworth,  Kansas,  in  June,  1846,  with  his 


THE  OLD  PALACE  AT  SANTA  FE. 

"Army  of  theWest,"  comprising  about  eighteen 
hundred  men  (mostly  volunteers),  equipped 
with  a  supply  train  of  a  thousand  mules,  and 
overtaking  en  route  the  Santa  Fe  caravan 
of  four  hundred  wagons.  A  small  force  was 
sent  forward  to  open  the  way,  and  although  it 
was  favorably  received,  Kearny  later  learned 
that  his  advance  toward  the  capital  would  be 
contested.  Nevertheless,  the  army  continued 


472  Santa  Fe 

its  march  and  entered  the  town  on  August 
1 8th  without  the  slightest  opposition  on  the 
part  of  Armijo,  who  had  fled  precipitately. 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  were  hoisted  over  the 
Palace,  which  Kearny  made  his  headquarters, 
and  the  now  seasoned  volunteers  encamped  on 
an  eminence  overlooking  the  town.  On  the 
following  day  the  inhabitants  were  assembled 
in  the  plaza,  where  the  oath  of  allegiance  was 
administered  to  the  former  Mexican  officials, 
including  the  acting  Governor,  Juan  B.  Vigil. 
On  the  22d  Kearny  issued  his  famous  procla- 
mation declaring  himself  Governor  and  the 
inhabitants  of  New  Mexico  citizens  of  the 
United  States. 

Meanwhile,  Captain  W.  H.  Emory  selected, 
as  the  site  for  a  fort,  an  eminence  on  the 
northern  edge  of  the  town,  and  the  construc- 
tion of  defensive  works  was  immediately 
begun.  The  fort,  named  in  honor  of  William 
L.  Marcy,  then  Secretary  of  War,  was  built 
principally  of  adobe ;  the  only  approachable 
point  was  guarded  by  a  blockhouse  of  pine 
logs,  and  the  magazine  was  erected  of  the 
same  material.  The  embankments  of  old 
Fort  Marcy  are  still  plainly  traceable,  but 
there  is  nothing  to  mark  the  graves  of 


Santa  F£  473 

the  two  hundred  brave  Missouri  volunteers 
who  were  laid  to  rest  at  the  foot  of  the  slope 
during  the  cruel  winter  of  1846-47. 

Kearny  took  almost  immediate  steps  to  pro- 
vide civil  government  for  New  Mexico  by  ap- 
pointing as  Governor  Charles  Bent,  who  had 


SANTA  FE  IN   1846. 

for  many  years  been  a  prominent  trader  in  the 
country.  But  as  the  months  passed  many  of 
the  New  Mexicans  grew  tired  of  their  new  al- 
legiance, and  conditions  ripened  for  another  re- 
volt. On  January  19,  1847,  Bent,  with  other 
officials,  was  foully  murdered  at  Fernandez  de 
Taos  by  Mexicans  and  Taos  Indians,  but  ret- 
ribution swift  and  terrible  followed,  and  the 
battle-scarred  and  ruined  church  at  Taos  pueblo 
practically  repeated  the  story  of  the  Alamo. 


474  Santa  F£ 

Although  it  remained  under  military  control 
until  1850,  New  Mexico  very  soon  began  to 
feel  the  effects  of  American  influence.  In 
1 847  a  legislative  assembly  was  held  at  Santa 
Fe  ;  the  first  English  newspaper.  The  Santa 
Ft  Republican,  was  founded,  and  the  New 
Mexicans  had  their  first  opportunity  of  be- 
coming familiar  with  the  mysteries  of  a  saw- 
mill, which  was  placed  in  operation  on  Santa 
Fe  Creek.  In  August,  1848,  the  treaty  of 
peace  was  proclaimed  from  the  Palace,  and 
the  ancient  city  formally  changed  masters  for 
the  fifth  time  in  its  history.  The  volunteers 
were  glad  to  return  to  their  homes,  the  Santa 
Fe  trade  resumed  its  busy  march,  and  modern 
ways  made  further  impress  on  the  manners  of 
the  old  adobe  town.  In  1848  the  first  English 
school  was  put  in  operation  at  the  capital ;  later 
in  the  year  the  New  Mexican  was  founded, 
and,  save  for  a  few  intermissions,  has  ever 
since  been  published  ;  while  the  ecclesiastical 
importance  of  the  town  was  augmented  by 
the  establishment  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
vicariate-apostolic  of  Santa  Fe,  with  Bishop 
Lamy  at  its  head.  On  March  3,  1851,  after 
much  wrangling  and  many  attempts,  New 
Mexico  was  organized  into  a  full-fledged 


476  Santa  F6 

territory  of  the  United  States,  James  S.  Cal- 
houn  becoming  its  first  civil  governor,  and  on 
July  i4th  the  first  legislative  assembly  fixed 
Santa  Fe  as  the  seat  of  the  new  government. 

Next  came  the  Civil  War,  the  principal  op- 
erations of  which  were  not  so  far  away  that 
Santa  Fe  failed  to  participate.  The  severe 
defeat  of  the  Federals  under  Canby  by  the 
Texans  under  Sibley,  at  Valverde,  in  February, 
1862  (where  Kit  Carson's  bravery  made  him  a 
brigadier),  opened  the  northern  way  to  the 
Confederates.  Santa  Fe  was  abandoned  by  the 
Union  forces  on  March  3d,  and  Sibley  took 
possession  a  week  later.  On  the  22d  Colonel 
Slough's  Federal  force  of  thirteen  hundred  men 
marched  from  Fort  Union  toward  the  town. 
On  the  26th  the  vanguard  of  four  hundred  met 
the  enemy  in  Apache  Canon,  and  in  the  severe 
engagements  which  followed  on  that  day  and 
on  the  28th,  the  Federals  were  victorious  and 
the  way  was  again  opened  to  their  occupancy  of 
Santa  Fe  on  April  nth,  the  Confederates 
having  evacuated  three  days  earlier.  This 
practically  closed  the  war  in  New  Mexico,  the 
Texans  returning  to  their  homes  minus  half 
their  number. 

The  recent  years  of  Santa  Fe's  history  have 


Santa  Fe  477 

more  than  ever  marked  the  passage  of  the 
ancient  town  from  the  lethargy  characteristic 
of  the  century  of  its  founding  to  the  enter- 
prise which  one  expects  in  an  American  settle- 
ment of  the  present  day.  The  contrast 
between  the  sleepy  Mexican  village  in  the 
wilderness  during  the  early  years  of  American 
occupancy  and  the  progressive,  substantial, 
picturesque  town  of  nowadays  is  vast.  The 
great  awakening  came  with  the  first  screech 
of  the  locomotive  on  February  9,  1880,  which 
forever  hushed  the  rumble  of  the  long  caravan 
as  it  rolled  its  weary  way  into  the  crooked 
streets  of  the  City  of  the  Holy  Faith.  New 
Mexico's  capital  was  enabled  at  last  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  the  outer  world,  although 
rival  settlements,  created  by  the  new  trail  of 
steel,  robbed  it  more  and  more,  as  year  after 
year  passed,  of  the  trade  which  had  helped  to 
make  it  famous.  Its  genial  climate  and  other 
advantages  attracted  many  from  the  East ; 
schools  and  hospitals  were  established,  and  as 
the  seat  of  federal  and  territorial  administra- 
tion, as  well  as  of  military  and  ecclesiastical  im- 
portance, its  social  advantages  became  widely 
recognized. 

Despite   its   modern    buildings   devoted  to 


478  Santa  Fe 

various  uses,  there  are  parts  of  the  town  which 
have  not  changed  greatly  during  the  half- 
century  of  American  influence.  The  plaza,  of 
tragic  memory,  has  evolved  from  a  barren 
common  to  a  bower  of  beauty  ornamented 
with  a  monument  dedicated  to  the  heroes  of 
Indian  and  civil  strife.  The  old  Palace,  in 
which  the  gallant  Vargas  was  dungeoned,  and 
in  which  Lew  Wallace  wrote  the  last  chapters 
of  Ben  Hur,  has  been  refurbished,  but  proba- 
bly no  walls  within  our  domain  hold  in  hiding 
such  a  wealth  of  cruelty  and  horror,  of  treach- 
ery and  suffering,  of  valor  and  chivalry,  as  the 
great  adobe  structure  which  still  overlooks  the 
historic  plaza  of  our  oldest  western  town. 


SALT  LAKE  CITY 


BY  JAMES  EDWARD  TALMAGE 

LONG  before  the  first  settlement,  little 
more  than  fifty  years  ago,  of  the  valley 
of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  strange  stories  of  the 
briny  sea  and  its  desert  setting  had  found  their 
way  to  the  civilized  and  cultured  East ;  and, 
mingled  with  the  weird  accounts  of  sun-baked 
plains,  waterless  wilderness,  and  saline  soli- 
tudes, were  the  predictions  of  the  wise  that  the 
country  would  never  be  worth  settling.  This 
region  was  included  within  the  area  against 
which  Daniel  Webster  hurled  his  anathema  of 
denunciation  from  the  floor  of  the  national 
Senate,  proclaiming  the  utter  worthlessness  of 
the  great  West,  and  declaring  that  he  would 
"  never  vote  one  cent  from  the  public  treasury 
to  place  the  Pacific  coast  one  inch  nearer  to 

479 


480  Salt  Lake  City 

Boston "  than  it  then  was.  And  concerning 
the  Salt  Lake  Valley  itself,  Colonel  James 
Bridger,  for  whom  the  disputed  honor  of 
discovering  the  Great  Salt  Lake  has  been 
claimed,  said  that  he  would  offer  a  thousand 
dollars  in  gold  for  the  first  ear  of  corn  that 
could  be  ripened  therein. 

The  motive  spirit  actuating  the  early  trav- 
ellers in  these  then  Mexican  wastes  was  that 
of  exploration  and  discovery.  Worthy  as  it 
was,  it  was  insufficient  to  induce  the  settle- 
ment of  the  wilderness  or  to  inspire  the  ambi- 
tion of  subduing  the  desert  and  sanctifying 
the  waste  places  with  the  name  of  home. 
The  most  potent  of  all  incentives,  that  of 
religious  conviction  and  conscientious  devo- 
tion to  what  was  regarded  as  sacred  duty, 
was  necessary — and  not  wanting. 

It  was  on  the  igth  of  July,  1847,  tnat  tne 
vanguard  of  the  pioneer  party  of  "  Mormon  " 
colonists  sighted  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt 
Lake.  For  long,  weary  months  they  had  jour- 
neyed ;  their  start  from  the  frontiers  of  civil- 
ization had  been  hastened  by  the  musket  and 
the  sword  and  the  devouring  flame  of  perse- 
cution ;  their  course  over  plain  and  mountain 
had  been  attended  by  vicissitudes  that  only 


482  Salt  Lake  City 

those  who  have  toiled  through  such  journeys 
can  comprehend. 

And  what  emotions  did  that  first  view  of 
the  "Promised  Land"  inspire!  A  valley, 
beautiful  it  is  true,  even  as  the  desert  is  beau- 
tiful in  its  parching  splendor ;  as  the  moun- 
tains are  beautiful  in  their  terrible  grandeur ; 
as  the  ocean  is  beautiful  in  its  calm  monotony 
or  in  its  storm-lashed  fury ;  but  such  beauty 
is  not  suggestive  of  rest  or  peace,  and  it 
was  peace  the  wanderers  sought.  From  the 
canons  of  the  Wasatch,  though  not  the  first 
to  traverse  the  region,  yet  the  first  to  brave 
its  desolate  and  forbidding  seclusion  in  search 
of  a  home,  they  looked  down  on  a  valley 
walled  by  the  Wasatch  and  the  Oquirrhs,  bare 
of  tree  or  shrub,  except  for  patches  of  chaparral 
oak,  and  here  and  there  a  gnarled  willow  or 
cottonwood  bravely  struggling  for  existence 
on  the  upper  parts  of  the  few  stream  courses 
that  opened  from  the  mountain  wall  on  the 
east ;  the  only  blossoms  those  of  the  stunted 
sunflower  and  its  desert  companions,  the  foli- 
age that  of  the  gray  artemisia,  or  wild  sage. 

On  the  24th  of  July,  1847,  Brigham  Young, 
the  founder  of  Salt  Lake  City  and  the  pioneer 
colonizer  of  Utah,  descended  from  the  moun- 


Salt  Lake  City 


483 


tain  gateway,  followed  by  the  main  division  of 
the  company,  numbering  a  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  souls, 
of  whom  three 
were  women. 
One  of  this  trio 
of  heroines  was 
overcome  by 
the  treeless 
and  desolate 
aspect  of  the 
valley.  "  Weak 
and  weary  as  I 
am,"  she  said, 
"I  would  rath- 
er go  a  thou- 
sand miles 
farther  than 
stop  in  this  forsaken  place."  Three  days  ear- 
lier an  advance  detachment,  including  Orson 
Pratt  and  Erastus  Snow,  each  of  whom  came 
to  be  known  as  a  prominent  apostle  of  the 
"  Mormon  "  Church,  had  entered  the  valley ; 
but  July  24th  is  regarded  as  the  first  day  of 
occupation,  and  each  recurrence  of  the  date 
is  observed  as  Pioneer  Day,  a  holiday  by  law 
established  in  the  State  of  Utah. 


BRIQHAM  YOUNQ. 

FOUNDER    OF   SALT    LAKE   CITY. 


484  Salt  Lake  City 

The  pioneers'  purpose  was  not  uncertain  ; 
having  reached  their  destination  they  paused 
not  to  make  experiments  or  preliminary  tests. 
"This  is  the  place,"  said  their  leader,  "the 
very  place  "  ;  and  the  company  began  at  once 
the  work  of  permanently  establishing  them- 
selves and  of  preparing  for  the  reception  of 
other  immigrant  parties  then  on  the  march. 
Ploughs  were  promptly  brought  into  action, 
and  the  soil  theretofore  unused  to  the  husband- 
man's touch  was  in  part  torn  and  turned  ;  yet 
so  hard  and  resistant  was  it  that  it  measured 
its  strength  with  the  energy  of  man  and  for 
the  time  held  the  victory.  But  the  colonists 
were  full  of  resource.  The  little  stream  now 
known  as  City  Creek,  the  chief  source  of  the 
city's  water  supply,  was  diverted  from  its 
course  and  made  to  flood  the  land  chosen  for 
the  first  desert  garden.  With  its  long  thirst 
appeased,  its  stony  heart  softened,  the  virgin 
soil  yielded  and  received  the  first  seed  sown 
by  human  agency  in  the  Great  American  Des- 
ert. Thus  began  the  system  of  irrigation 
which  in  its  later  developments  has  proved 
itself  the  magic  wand  under  whose  sway  the 
desert  has  been  conquered  and  the  wilderness 
transformed  into  a  garden  of  beauty. 


486  Salt  Lake  City 

On  the  28th  of  the  same  month  the  city 
was  planned  and  its  boundaries  were  indi- 
cated ;  five  days  later  the  survey  of  the  city 
plat  was  begun  under  the  direction  of  Orson 
Pratt.  All  the  plans  were  on  a  scale  of  un- 
limited liberality.  The  streets,  each  eight  rods 
in  width,  were  made  to  cross  at  right  angles, 
dividing  the  city  into  rectangular  blocks,  each 
of  ten  acres.  The  choicest  block  in  point  of 
situation  was  designated  as  the  site  of  the 
prospective  temple  ;  and  is  now  occupied  by 
the  world-famed  Temple,  the  Tabernacle,  and 
the  less  pretentious  Assembly  Hall.  The 
original  survey  was  made  to  include  a  hundred 
and  thirty-five  of  these  ten-acre  blocks  ;  several 
were  chosen  for  public  squares  and  parks ;  the 
remainder  were  to  be  divided  into  city  lots  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  thousands  soon  to 
come. 

Religious  devotion,  the  inspiring  cause  of 
this  seemingly  reckless  scheme  of  colonization, 
demanded  facilities  for  public  worship  ;  and, 
lacking  chapel,  synagogue,  or  temple,  the  colo- 
nists provided  a  leafy  tabernacle.  Trees  were 
hauled  from  the  mountains,  and  of  these  a 
bowery  was  constructed,  which  for  a  time  was 
church,  court-house,  and  capitol. 


Salt  Lake  City  487 

Having  learned  by  experience  that  Indian 
attacks  were  to  be  expected,  the  settlers  con- 
gregated on  a  single  ten-acre  block,  which 
they  enclosed  by  erecting  their  huts  of  logs  and 
adobe  along  the  eastern  border.  Each  hut 
opened  inward  toward  the  centre  of  the  square 
and  was  provided  with  a  loophole  on  the 
outer  side  ;  the  space  between  the  houses  and 
the  sides  of  the  block  not  occupied  by  habita- 
tions was  protected  by  a  continuous  wall  of 
adobe.  With  the  increase  of  population  ad- 
ditions were  made  to  the  fort  ;  but  as  soon  as 
the  ruddy  aborigines  learned  that  the  white 
invaders  were  their  friends,  the  fort  was  aban- 
doned, and  the  settlers  distributed  themselves 
over  the  city  area. 

At  the  time  of  its  first  settlement  Utah  was 
a  part  of  the  Mexican  domain  ;  nevertheless, 
the  "  Mormon  "  colonists,  confident  as  to  the 
destiny  of  their  nation,  patriotically  raised 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  took  possession  of  the 
region  in  the  name  of  the  United  States.  A 
prominent  hill,  part  of  the  Wasatch  spur  which 
bounds  the  present  city  on  the  northeast  like 
a  fortress  wall,  was  chosen  as  the  flag  site  ; 
and  this  elevation  is  to-day  known  as  Ensign 
Peak.  From  its  summit,  now  surmounted  by 


488  Salt  Lake  City 

an  enduring  flag-staff  of  steel,  the  banner  of 
freedom  is  thrown  to  the  mountain  breezes  on 
public  holidays  and  other  occasions  of  patriotic 
celebration. 

More  colonists  arrived  in  parties  great  and 
small  ;  and  by  the  spring  of  1848  approxi- 
mately seventeen  hundred  souls  were  en- 
camped in  the  valley,  more  than  four  hundred 
dwellings  had  been  erected  within  the  confines 
of  the  old  fort,  and  about  five  thousand 
acres  of  land  had  been  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion. In  May  and  June,  the  settlers  were  ar- 
rayed in  battle  order,  not  against  human  foes 
but  to  fight  the  dreaded  insect  scourge,  the 
Rocky  Mountain  crickets,  which  in  countless 
hordes  descended  from  the  mountains  and  in- 
vaded the  fields  and  gardens.  Every  member 
of  the  little  community,  man,  woman,  or  child, 
was  called  into  action  but  to  little  purpose. 
When  the  people  had  been  reduced  to  despair 
they  were  saved  by  what  they  devoutly  be- 
lieved to  be  a  special  and  miraculous  inter- 
position of  Providence.  There  suddenly 
appeared  on  the  western  horizon  a  tremulous 
cloud  which  grew  in  magnitude  as  it  rapidly 
approached,  until  at  last  it  was  seen  to  be  the 
vanguard  of  an  advancing  army  of  gulls. 


Salt  Lake  City  489 

Down  swooped  the  white-winged  deliverers, 
devouring  the  crickets  with  incredible  voracity 
until  but  few  were  left  alive.  Since  that  day  the 
gulls  have  been  sacred  in  Utah.  Every  spring 
they  come  to  follow  the  plough  as  it  turns  the 
soil  for  the  season's  seed,  and  so  confident  are 
they  of  their  safety  that  they  may  be  ap- 
proached almost  within  arm's  length.  Added 
to  the  ruin  wrought  by  the  crickets  was  a 
further  deprivation,  due  to  drought  and  frosts. 
The  harvest  of  1848  was  little  better  than  a 
failure,  and  the  succeeding  winter  and  spring 
were  seasons  of  extreme  destitution.  The 
people  were  brought  to  the  dire  necessity  of 
gathering  the  wild  weeds  of  the  desert  and 
even  of  boiling  the  raw  hides  in  their  camps 
for  sustenance.  The  bulbous  roots  of  the 
sego  lily —  now  the  banner-flower  of  the  State 
—were  dug  for  food  ;  but  the  pangs  of  hunger 
were  an  experience  from  which  none  escaped. 
However,  the  following  season  brought  a  more 
abundant  return  from  the  soil  and  the  pros- 
pects of  the  colony  brightened. 

In  February,  1848,  the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe 
Hidalgo  secured  by  cession  from  Mexico  to 
the  United  States  the  region  now  embraced 
by  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Utah,  Nevada,  and 


49°  Salt  Lake  City 

California.  The  great  republic  reached  the 
Pacific,  and  Salt  Lake  City  became  an  integral 
part  of  the  United  States.  Up  to  this  time, 
and,  indeed,  for  a  year  thereafter,  the  govern- 
mental affairs  of  the  new  community  were 
administered  almost  wholly  by  the  Church 
authorities.  In  February,  1849,  ^e  C^Y  was 
divided  into  nineteen  ecclesiastical  wards,  over 
each  of  which  a  "  bishopric"  presided,  consisting 
of  a  bishop  and  his  two  counsellors,  who  com- 
bined with  their  purely  churchly  function  the 
duties  of  magistrates  and  civil  officers.  They 
regulated  the  levying  and  disbursing  of  taxes, 
the  construction  of  roads  and  bridges,  and  the 
like.1 

In  the  early  months  of  1849  steps  were  taken 
toward  the  establishment  of  a  State  govern- 
ment from  which  the  city  might  hope  to  derive 
corporate  powers.  It  was  proposed  that  the 
State  of  which  Salt  Lake  City  was  destined  to 
be  the  capital  be  called  Deseret — a  name  oc- 
curring in  the  records  of  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  the  continent,  as  set  forth  in  the  Book  of 

1  Some  secular  officials,  such  as  marshals  and  other  peace  officers, 
had  been  chosen,  but  these  were  generally  nominated  by  the  Church 
leaders  and  elected  or  "  sustained  "  by  vote  of  the  people  in  Church 
gatherings.  The  secular  power  exercised  by  the  Church  officials  was 
expressly  delegated  to  them  by  vote  of  the  people. 


Salt  Lake  City 


49 i 


Mormon,  and  meaning  "  the  honey  bee."  The 
hive,  expressive  of  the  characteristic  industry 
and  thrift  of  the  people,  was  chosen  as  the 
symbol  and  seal  of  the  prospective  State. 
Pending  action  by  the  national  Congress,  the 

"  Provisional 

Government 
of  the  State  of 
Deseret  "was 
e  st  ab  1  ished, 
and  its  officers 
were  duly  elec- 
ted. The  Gen- 
eral Assembly 
of  the  State  of 
Deseret,  in 
January,  1851, 
chartered 
"Great  Salt 
Lake  City" 
and  appointed 

its  first  Mayor,  Jedediah  M.  Grant,  and  other 
municipal  officers.  The  people  were  not  yet 
informed  that  four  months  before,  September 
9,  1850,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
had  refused  their  petition  for  statehood  and  \ 
had  created  the  Territory  of  Utah.  The  acts 


JEDEDIAH  M.  GRANT,  FIRST  MAYOR 
OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 


492 


Salt  Lake  City 


of  the  provisional  government  were  subse- 
quently confirmed  by  the  first  territorial  Legis- 
lature, and  the  city's  charter  was  thus  legalized. 
Each  passing  year  added  to  the  attractive- 
ness of  the  new  capital.  An  orchard  had  been 


EAGLE  GATE. 


planted  on  every  unoccupied  lot,  shade  trees 
were  placed  along  the  outer  borders  of  the 
sidewalks,  and  to  nourish  these  a  small  stream 
was  made  to  flow  down  either  side  of  every 
street.  The  city  became  the  acknowledged 
business  centre  of  the  inter-mountain  region. 
Situated  on  the  road  to  the  gold  regions,  when 
the  gold  fever  was  at  its  height,  travel  was 


Salt  Lake  City  493 

heavy,  and  the  settlers  found  a  ready  market 
for  anything  they  could  produce  from  the  soil. 
Gold-seekers  hastening  westward  and  suc- 
cessful miners  returning  eastward  halted  at 
this  oasis  to  replenish  their  supplies,  and  left 
their  wealth  in  lavish  abundance  to  enrich  the 
people  of  the  desert,  who,  however,  had  little 
need  of  gold  in  their  local  trade,  and  valued  it 
only  for  the  implements  of  husbandry  and 
building  it  would  buy  in  the  East.  A  strange 
spectacle  was  presented  of  a  city  destitute  of 
many  necessaries  and  of  most  of  the  luxuries 
of  life,  yet  rich  to  affluence  in  gold,  which  was 
sent  back  to  "the  States"  by  the  bucketful. 

Merchandise  was  brought  in  by  fleets  of 
"prairie  schooners,"  and  the  contents  of  each 
of  these  wheeled  boats  of  mountain  and  plain 
were  eagerly  bought  up.  There  was  danger 
of  class  distinctions  arising,  of  the  few  who  had 
most  gold  to  spare  buying  more  than  their 
share,  and  so  becoming  rich  at  the  expense 
of  their  fellows.  Acting  on  the  counsel  of 
their  President,  the  people  adopted  rules  to 
secure  an  equable  distribution  of  imported 
goods.  Later  the  settlers  established  their 
merchandise  business  on  a  plan  of  co-op- 
eration, and  Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile 


494  Salt  Lake  City 

Institution  began  its  phenomenally  successful 
career.  The  chief  establishment  of  this  sys- 
tem is  still  operating,  with  headquarters  in  Salt 
Lake  City,  and  its  annual  sales,  officially  at- 
tested, average  over  four  million  dollars. 

The  city's  very  existence  was  threatened  in 
1857.  A  detachment  of  the  United  States 
army  numbering  over  two  thousand  men  was 
ordered  to  Utah  by  President  Buchanan  for 
the  purpose  of  suppressing  an  alleged  insur- 
rection, which,  it  was  reported,  had  culminated 
in  the  destruction  of  the  court  records  and  the 
driving  of  the  federal  judge,  Drummond,  from 
his  bench.  When  news  of  the  libellous  charges 
against  the  people  reached  Utah,  the  clerk  of 
Judge  Drummond's  own  court  issued  a  full  de- 
nial under  official  seal.  But  the  mischievous 
misrepresentation  had  already  produced  its 
effect  at  the  nation's  capital,  and  the  army  was 
on  the  march. 

Mail  contractors  operating  between  the  Mis- 
souri River  and  Salt  Lake  City  brought  word 
of  the  approaching  soldiery,  and  reported 
threats  of  both  officers  and  men  as  to  the  sum- 
mary way  in  which  they  would  dispose  of  the 
people  when  once  they  found  themselves  within 
the  "City  of  the  Saints."  The  Latter-day  Saints 


BRIQHAM  YOUNG  MONUMENT. 


495 


496  Salt  Lake  City 

understood  the  intensity  of  the  public  senti- 
ment against  them  ;  they  felt,  too,  the  injus- 
tice of  the  libel.  They  believed  that  the  army's 
invasion  of  their  city  and  Territory  meant  their 
massacre.  Brigham  Young  was  still  Governor 
of  Utah,  and  the  territorial  militia  was  subject 
to  his  command.  He  promptly  proclaimed 
martial  law  throughout  the  Territory,  and  for- 
bade any  armed  forces  to  enter  its  confines. 
Echo  Canon,  the  easiest  avenue  of  approach, 
was  fortified.  In  its  defiles  an  army  might 
well  be  stopped  by  a  few.  The  people  had 
been  roused  to  desperation.  Force  was  to  be 
met  with  force. 

The  army  wintered  at  Fort  Bridger,  Wy- 
oming, amid  severe  vicissitudes.  In  the  mean- 
time a  full  report  of  the  situation  had  been 
made  by  Governor  Young  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  President  Buchanan  tacitly 
admitted  his  rashness,  but  to  recall  the  troops 
at  that  juncture  would  be  to  openly  confess  the 
blunder.  A  peace  commissioner,  in  the  person 
of  Colonel  Thomas  B.  Kane,  was  dispatched  to 
Salt  Lake  City,  and  finally  the  President's  ap- 
pointees were  conducted  through  the  "  Mor- 
mon "  lines  by  "  Mormon "  militia,  and  were 
duly  inducted  into  office.  Then  it  was  demon- 


498  Salt  Lake  City 

strated  that  the  court  records  were  intact,  and 
the  people  at  peace.  The  army  followed  later, 
under  pledge  that  its  ranks  be  not  broken 
within  the  city  limits  and  that  its  camp  be  not 
within  forty  miles  of  the  capital.  And  when 
at  last  the  soldiers  threaded  the  streets,  a 
strange  sight  met  their  view.  Salt  Lake  City 
was  deserted,  except  for  a  few  men  who  stood 
with  lighted  torches  in  hand  ready  to  fire  the 
heaps  of  combustibles  that  had  been  piled  in 
every  house.  For  the  people,  loth  to  trust  too 
implicitly  in  the  unwilling  promises  of  officers 
smarting  under  the  consciousness  of  defeat, 
had  abandoned  their  homes,  with  the  solemn 
determination  that  if  the  invaders  made  a 
single  attempt  at  plunder  they  should  find 
naught  but  ashes  for  their  loot. 

But  the  promises  were  kept  in  good  faith. 
The  army  established  its  headquarters  at  Camp 
Floyd,  forty  miles  southwest  from  the  city. 
There  the  soldiers  remained  until  summoned 
back,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  Dur- 
ing their  two  years'  encampment  in  Utah,  the 
soldiers  were  fed  by  the  people.  Everything 
in  the  nature  of  food  was  eagerly  bought  up 
at  an  unusual  price,  and  thus  the  nation's  gold 
found  its  way  into  the  hands  of  the  citizens. 


Salt  Lake  City 


499 


Then,  so  great  was  the  hurry  of  the  army's 
departure,  so  urgent  the  need  of  speedy  travel, 
that  all  their  belongings  outside  of  actual 
necessities  were  sold  for  a  trifle  or  given  away. 


HOUSE  BUILT  IN  1847  WITHIN  THE  OLD  FORT. 

The  reason  why  the  people  regard  the  coming 
of  "  Buchanan's  army  "  as  a  blessing  to  their 
city  is  evident. 

In  1 86 1  the  Overland  Telegraph  Line,  which 
had  been  approaching  the  city  from  both  east 
and  west,  was  completed,  and  Salt  Lake  City 
was  relieved  of  some  of  the  disadvantages  of 


500  Salt  Lake  City 

its  desert  isolation.  Eight  years  later  the 
Union  Pacific  and  the  Central  Pacific  rail- 
ways reached  Utah,  and  from  that  time  to  the 
present  the  development  of  both  city  and  State 
has  been  of  phenomenal  rapidity. 

From  the  earliest  period  of  its  existence 
Salt  Lake  City  has  been  strong  and  untiring 
in  its  efforts  to  secure  adequate  educational 
facilities.  In  October,  1847,  only  three  months 
after  the  pioneer  entry,  a  school  was  opened 
within  the  walls  of  the  Old  Fort.  The  school- 
house  was  a  tent,  and  for  seats  and  desks 
hewn  slabs  and  sections  of  logs  were  brought 
into  service.  Other  schools  followed  and  the 
people  thus  early  voiced  their  desire  for  sec- 
ondary and  higher  instruction.  In  February, 
1850,  when  the  city  was  less  than  three  years 
old,  "  The  University  of  the  State  of  Deseret  " 
with  its  seat  at  "  Great  Salt  Lake  City  "  was 
incorporated  by  the  legislative  assembly  of  the 
provisional  government.  In  November  of 
that  year  the  "  University  "  began  its  work  in 
the  field  of  secondary  instruction  under  the 
name  of  "  The  Parent  School."  As  suggested 
by  this  title  branch  schools  were  conducted 
in  the  smaller  settlements.  The  institution 
thus  grandly  projected  in  the  face  of  seem- 


Salt  Lake  City 


501 


ingly  insurmountable  obstacles  has  grown  with 
the  commonwealth,  and  to-day,  under  the  name 


MORMON  TEMPLE. 


of  the  University  of  Utah,  compares  favorably 
with  other  State  colleges  of  the  West.  The 
present  public-school  system  is  the  pride  of 


502  Salt  Lake  City 

the  city.  Stately  school  buildings,  modern 
and  efficient,  and  the  best  equipment  procur- 
able are  provided  ;  and  the  schools  are  free. 

And  so  the  city  has  grown,  gathering 
strength  with  its  years,  but  in  surprising  pro- 
portion. It  has  ever  been  quick  to  adopt 
the  conveniences  of  advancing  civilization  ; 
for  there  was  little  of  the  old  to  sweep  away. 
Its  street-cars  are  driven  by  the  power  of 
the  mountain  cataract  thirty-five  miles  away. 
Its  streets,  public  buildings,  and  dwellings  are 
lighted  by  the  same  mysterious  force,  and  its 
factories  and  industrial  establishments  are 
electrically  operated.  In  few  cities  indeed  is 
the  electric  energy  more  generally  utilized. 

Among  its  notable  structures  a  few  demand 
special  mention.  First  in  popular  interest, 
perhaps  first  also  in  historic  significance,  is 
the  great  "  Mormon "  Temple,  constructed 
throughout  of  solid  granite  from  the  erup- 
tive exposures  of  the  Wasatch.  The  corner- 
stone was  laid  April  6,  1853,  and  the  completed 
Temple  was  dedicated  April  6,  1893.  During 
the  four  decades  occupied  in  the  work  over 
three  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars  were  ex- 
pended on  the  structure.  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  the  building  was  begun  amid  most 


Salt  Lake  City 


503 


meagre  facilities  for  such  an  undertaking  — 
when  the  services  of  several  yoke  of  oxen 
were  required  for  the  bringing  of  a  single 
block  of  granite  from  the  famed  Cottonwood 
Canon  a  score  of  miles  south  of  the  city. 


MORMON  TABERNACLE. 


Of  the  four  temples  already  erected  in  the 
vales  of  Utah,  the  one  at  Salt  Lake  City  was 
the  first  to  be  commenced  and  the  last  to  be 
finished. 

The  domed  roof  of  the  Tabernacle  has  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  every  one  who  has 
seen  even  a  picture  of  the  city.  In  some  of 
its  architectural  features  the  building  is  unique. 


504  Salt  Lake  City 

It  covers  an  area  of  250  x  180  feet  and  has  a 
seating  capacity  of  eight  thousand.  The  col- 
ossal roof-arch  springs  from  wall  to  wall  with- 
out a  supporting  pillar.  Within  is  the  monster 
organ,  which  for  size  and  scope  is  approached 
by  few  instruments  in  the  world.  It  was  con- 
structed in  early  days  from  native  material  by 
Utah  artisans,  and  has  been  regarded  as  a 
marvel  of  mechanical  and  artistic  achievement. 

The  story  of  Salt  Lake  City  is  really  a 
chapter  of  "  Mormon "  history.  To-day  its 
population  would  probably  show  a  majority 
of  non-Mormons,  but  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  is  the  dominant 
sect  in  city  and  State.  Numerous  other 
churches  have  established  themselves ;  many 
of  them  have  reared  imposing  sanctuaries 
and  are  active  in  the  promulgation  of  their 
doctrines. 

Non-Mormon  citizens  have  been  as  ready 
and  earnest  in  their  efforts  to  build  up  and 
sustain  the  city  of  their  choice  as  have  their 
Latter-day  Saint  fellows ;  and  the  present 
beauty,  strength,  and  vitality  of  the  inter- 
mountain  metropolis  are  largely  due  to  non- 
Mormon,  or  "  Gentile,"  enterprise  and  energy. 
The  "  Gentiles "  have  ever  been  the  more 


506 


Salt  Lake  City 


prominent  in  mining  undertakings,  and  the 
large  and  paying  mines  of  to-day  are  mostly 
theirs.  Salt  Lake  City  does  not  belong  to 
the  "  Mormons "  ;  it  is  the  possession  of  its 
citizens  without  regard  to  religious  profession 
or  political  preference. 


LION  AND  BEE-HIVE  HOUSES. 


Since  man  and  nature  combined  their  en- 
ergies in  this  once  desert  spot,  the  favored 
situation,  the  many  natural  advantages  have 
yearly  grown  more  apparent.  Located  at  the 
very  base  of  the  Wasatch,  bounded  in  part 
by  a  spur  of  this  majestic  range,  the  city  pos- 
sesses a  wealth  of  mountain  scenery  beyond 


Salt  Lake  City  507 

description.  The  valley  floor  is  part  of  the 
bed  of  an  inland  sea  of  Quaternary  age  ;  and 
the  benches  and  hills  constituting  the  choicest 
residence  portions  are  the  terraces  of  this 
ancient  lake,  or  the  deltas  of  the  prehistoric 
streams  whose  mouths  were  at  the  present 
canon  openings.  Capitol  Hill  and  the  North- 
east Bench  are  parts  of  the  great  delta  con- 
structed by  City  Creek  in  Lake  Bonneville. 
Of  this  Pleistocene  water  body,  approximately 
equal  to  Lake  Huron  in  extent,  the  present 
Salt  Lake,  in  spite  of  its  common  appellation 
''great,"  is  but  a  diminutive  fragment. 

The  present  population  as  attested  by  the 
recent  census  returns  is  53,531  ;  though  the 
current  city  directory,  compiled  immediately 
after  the  census  enumeration,  gives  names 
and  addresses  of  nearly  seventy  thousand  resi- 
dent inhabitants.  The  city's  growing  impor- 
tance as  a  manufacturing,  commercial,  railroad, 
and  mining  centre  is  generally  recognized : 
while  its  enterprise,  progressiveness,  and  wealth 
are  of  national  repute.  But  beyond  all  such 
it  is  to  be  characterized  as  a  city  of  homes. 
From  cottage  to  mansion  its  residences  are 
very  generally  owned  by  their  tenants.  Its 
citizens  are,  for  the  most  part,  permanent 


508 


Salt  Lake  City 


residents  and  the  city  is  theirs.  Its  increase 
has  been  that  of  development  rather  than  of 
growth ;  the  distinction  is  a  vital  one,  for  it 
characterizes  the  expansion  of  the  living  or- 
ganism as  against  mere  accretion  of  substance. 
With  such  a  development  in  the  course 
of  less  than  five  and  a  half  decades,  what  shall 
be  its  condition  and  status  when  its  years 
have  linked  themselves  into  centuries? 


SPOKANE 

THE   CITY   OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 

BY   HAROLD   BOLCE 

OCULPTORS  have  not  yet  chiselled  the 
^  glory  °f  the  founders  of  Spokane,  for 
most  of  the  pioneers  of  that  city,  heedless  of 
remote  epitaphs,  still  hurry  over  its  now  "  popu- 
lous pavements,"  multiplying  their  wealth. 
Boys  born  in  the  first  year  of  the  city's  in- 
corporation have  not  yet  reached  the  age  of 
suffrage.  Less  than  thirty  years  ago  the  settle- 
ment began  with  three  citizens  and  a  sawmill. 
It  has  developed  into  a  brick  and  granite  city 
of  nearly  fifty  thousand. 

A  century  ago  a  few  brave  men  blazed 
perilous  trails  through  the  wilderness  of  the 
far  Northwest  but  their  picturesque  adventures 
gave  no  hint  of  the  city  of  wealth,  industry, 
and  architectural  beauty  that  was  to  rise  on 
both  banks  of  the  Spokane  cataract.  Though 

509 


510  Spokane 

Jefferson's  renowned  secretary,  Meriwether 
Lewis,  and  his  comrade  Clark,  brother  of 
George  Rogers  Clark,  heralded  the  day  when 
the  Oregon  and  its  affluents  should  hear 
sounds  more  significant  than  their  own  dash- 
ings,  their  pilgrimage  had  become  as  dim 
as  a  tradition  to  the  men  of  the  present 
generation  who  first  floated  Cceur  d'  Alene 
tamarack  and  cedar  down  the  swift  Spokane 
to  their  sawmill  at  the  falls. 

On  the  Spokane  River  not  far  from  its  con- 
fluence with  the  Columbia  the  Northwest  Fur 
Company  built  a  post  more  than  ninety  years 
ago,  and  thence  reckless  voyageurs  found  their 
way  through  the  solitudes,  pausing  to  trade  at 
the  villages  of  the  Spokanes,  the  Flatheads, 
the  Umatillas,  the  Walla  Wallas,  the  Nez 
Perces,  and  others,  taking  red  women  cheer- 
fully in  marriage  and  as  cheerfully  deserting 
them  when  occasion  called.  In  this  remote 
frontier,  beyond  the  utmost  reach  of  ethics  or 
law,  in  a  region  with  a  cloud  upon  its  national 
title,  the  pioneers  fulfilled  their  semi-savage 
destiny.  Nelson  Durham,  a  writer  of  Spo- 
kane, has  patriotically  designated  the  Spokane 
Plains  as  the  site  of  the  annual  horse-racing 
and  saturnalia  of  these  skin-clad  trappers  and 


512  Spokane 

traders,  but  they  left  no  landmarks  and  the 
noise  of  their  revelry  had  long  since  died 
away  when  the  first  Anglo-Saxon,  lured  by  the 
roar  of  the  falls,  came  to  harness  those  tumult- 
uous waters  to  his  wheel. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  the  Spokane  Indians 
shunned  this  now  famed  succession  of  wild 
cascades,  for  in  the  foaming  maelstrom  at  the 
foot  of  the  falls  dwelt  a  malign  goddess,  her 
long  hair  streaming  in  the  cataract,  her  shim- 
mering figure  half  revealed  in  the  enveloping 
mists  of  spray.  While  the  waters  danced 
about  her  she  sang  merrily  and  the  sound  of 
her  singing  was  like  the  warbling  of  a  thou- 
sand birds.  With  her  outstretched  arms  she 
lured  Indian  fishermen  and  devoured  them. 
Her  flowing  hair  was  a  trammel  that  enmeshed 
her  victims.  None  had  ever  returned.  Shaman 
after  shaman,  under  his  totem  pole,  had  una- 
vailingly  invoked  his  tomaftowash  incanta- 
tions to  destroy  her  power.  Then  Speelyai 
or  Coyote,  the  great  Indian  god,  transforming 
himself  into  a  feather,  floated  over  the  falls 
and  was  speedily  engulfed  by  the  evil  goddess. 
Assuming  the  form  of  a  strong  warrior  he  be- 
gan his  campaign.  Around  him  were  the 
wrecks  of  skin  and  bark  canoes,  the  forms  of 


Spokane  5 l 3 

unnumbered  members  of  his  tribes,  and  a  be- 
draggled eagle  which  proved  to  be  Whaiama, 
god  of  the  upper  air.  With  a  stone  axe 
Speelyai  hewed  his  way  through  the  monster's 
side  and  Whaiama  bore  the  resurrected  com- 
pany to  the  high  banks  of  the  Spokane  River. 
Now  Speelyai  pronounced  a  curse  upon  his 
groaning  enemy.  Her  career  as  a  destroyer 
was  at  an  end.  Henceforth  she  might  entice 
some  helpless  wanderers  from  distant  tribes, 
but  the  chosen  ones  she  should  destroy  no 
more.  And  the  god  prophesied  in  conclusion 
that  a  better  race  would  come  some  day,  a 
strange  people,  whom  she  could  not  conquer, 
and  who  would  bind  and  enslave  her  forever. 

These  falls,  whose  total  volume  equals  the 
power  of  forty  thousand  horses,  turn  the 
wheels  of  factories  the  value  of  whose  ex- 
ports to  China,  Japan,  and  other  lands  is 
expressed  in  millions.  The  water-power 
speeds  electric  street-cars  over  ninety  miles 
of  track,  and  conducts  electricity  through  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  arc  mains.  All 
the  elevators  and  printing-presses  of  the  city 
are  operated  by  power  from  the  falls,  and  to 
this  all-supplying  current  are  attached  many 
sewing  -  machines,  typewriters,  phonographs, 


5  H  Spokane 

graphophones,  churns,  electric  fans,  music- 
boxes,  door-bells,  burglar  alarms,  clocks,  and 
hundreds  of  other  contrivances  calling  for 
constant  or  occasional  motive  power.  Spo- 
kane is  credited  with  being  the  most  modern 
and  best-equipped  city  in  the  world,  and  this 
is  due,  first,  to  the  falls  whose  power  brings 
many  utilities,  considered  luxuries  in  other 
communities,  within  reach  of  the  lowliest 
consumer ;  and  secondly,  to  the  singular  fact 
that  the  city  is  newer  than  the  telephone,  the 
electric  light,  and  other  latter-day  inven- 
tions and  discoveries.  There  were  no  ancient 
institutions  and  prejudices  to  supplant.  To 
children  reared  in  Spokane,  other  cities  seem 
archaic,  their  streets  sloven,  and  their  homes 
grotesquely  behind  the  times.  A  girl  from 
Spokane  visiting  in  New  York  is  known  to 
have  written  home  about  the  bizarre  appear- 
ance of  "  electric  cars  drawn  by  horses." 

London  gropes  by  night  through  dismal 
glimmerings  of  gas  and  it  would  require  mil- 
lions of  reluctant  pounds  sterling  to  substitute 
more  modern  light.  In  the  new  city  of  Spo- 
kane it  was  the  most  natural  procedure  to 
instal  the  latest  conveniences  of  modern  life. 
When  the  little  settlement  was  but  a  cluster 


Spokane  515 

of  ambitious  cabins  every  abode  had  its  tele- 
phone and  its  electric  lights.  The  Spokane 
workman  does  not  stumble  up  the  steps  of  a 
dim  tenement.  Lumber  is  cheap  and  in  va- 
riety, and  even  Spokane  granite  is  within  his 
means.  He  dwells  in  a  good  home.  A  click 
of  a  button  at  the  door  floods  the  dwelling 
with  light.  Sputtering  wicks  have  no  place 
in  his  economy.  He  can  afford,  too,  to  order 
his  groceries  by  telephone  or  use  the  same 
medium  to  discuss  politics  with  a  friend  in  a 
distant  part  of  the  city.  All  members  of  po- 
lite society  in  Spokane  have  telephones.  A 
lady  planning  an  impromptu  tea  or  lawn  party 
gets  out  her  calling  list,  reaches  for  the  tele- 
phone, and  issues  her  amiable  summons.  A 
great  amount  of  local  business  is  transacted 
over  the  wires  in  the  city.  The  power  of  the 
falls  likewise  enables  the  telephones  of  Spo- 
kane to  talk  and  trade  with  a  thousand  towns, 
the  distant  city  of  San  Francisco  coming 
within  the  Spokane  circuit. 

Thus,  in  the  employment  of  water-power  to 
serve  the  city  in  manifold  ways,  the  Indians 
say,  has  been  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Speelyai 
that  a  race  would  come  which  should  yoke  the 
goddess  of  the  cataract  in  perpetual  servitude. 


Spokane 


In  further  fulfilment  of  the  prediction  that 
the  demoniacal  siren  of  the  falls  should  no 
longer  have  dominion  over  his  people,  the 
Spokanes  and  kindred  tribes  shunned  the  river, 


- 

!        ' 

"      ,<. 


THE  LAST  CHIEF  TO  INTIMIDATE  THE  INHABITANTS  OF  SPOKANE. 

and  from  a  race  of  fishers,  paddling  bent  and 
kneeling  in  their  crude  canoes,  they  became 
an  intrepid  race  of  horsemen.  On  horseback 
they  rode  to  war  or  hunted  the  moose  and 
antelope,  and  horses  became  the  sign  of  wealth 


Spokane  51? 

and  the  medium  of  exchange.  For  their 
obedience  in  carrying  out  the  details  of  his 
malediction  upon  the  water  demon,  Speelyai 
prospered  them.  Their  wealth  increased  and 
their  numbers  multiplied.  Their  tepees  were 
warm  with  many  furs  and  picturesque  with 
the  trophies  of  battle  and  the  chase.  Their 
larders  abounded  with  dried  meat,  meal,  wap- 
atoo,  and  camas  root.  They  became  the  most 
valiant  warriors  between  the  Bitter  Root 
Mountains  and  the  sea.  The  power  of  the 
allied  tribes  of  Eastern  Washington  became 
so  formidable  that  the  American  Government 
was  compelled  to  send  its  most  skilful  military 
leaders  to  effect  their  pacification,  and  it  was 
not  until  Phil  Sheridan  eclipsed  them  in  dar- 
ing and  General  Miles  forced  Chief  Joseph  to 
capitulation  that  the  scattered  settlers  in  the 
Spokane  country  ceased  to  tremble  at  the 
impending  descent  of  mounted  savages. 

By  repeated  violation  of  treaty  stipulations, 
by  burnings  and  massacres  and  thefts,  they 
had  asserted  their  dominion.  In  1858  the 
Spokanes  gave  tragic  demonstration  of  their 
determination  to  enforce  the  native  decla- 
ration that  the  armies  of  the  whites  should 
never  traverse  their  domain.  In  that  year 


518  Spokane 

Colonel  Steptoe,  seeking  to  lead  a  detach- 
ment to  garrison  the  post  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  at  Colville,  near  the  British  border, 
was  defeated  with  great  slaughter  by  the 
Spokanes.  With  an  unscalped  remnant  of 
his  force  he  crawled  at  night  from  the  scene 
of  his  disaster  and,  abandoning  his  guns, 
rushed  in  confusion  back  to  Walla  Walla. 
The  god  of  Indian  battles  still  reigned  and 
the  Government  at  Washington  was  alarmed. 
Then  Colonel  George  Wright  was  chosen  to 
command,  a  man  whose  merciless  determina- 
tion and  sanguinary  triumphs  gave  to  his 
notable  campaign  a  distinction  not  paralleled 
until  the  Sirdar  of  Egypt  just  forty  years 
later  led  his  expedition  to  Khartoum,  silenced 
the  dervishes  near  Omdurman,  and  hurled  the 
severed  head  of  the  Khalifa  into  the  Nile.  The 
Spokanes  did  not  attribute  their  defeat  to 
the  superior  strategy  of  their  pale-faced  foe. 
Their  fatal  mistake,  they  said,  was  in  making 
their  last  stand  on  the  Spokane  Plains,  within 
sound  of  the  exultant  shrieking  and  sinister 
roaring  of  their  ancient  enemy,  the  evil  spirit 
of  the  Spokane  cataract,  and  it  was  she,  not 
their  white  conqueror,  who  herded  and  stam- 
peded them  into  terrified  surrender.  They 


520  Spokane 

had  fought  with  abandoned  daring,  and  had 
employed  all  their  arts  of  strategy,  but  were 
forced  back  toward  the  abode  of  the  water 
monster  until  her  roaring  mockery  thundered 
in  their  ears.  Now  they  set  the  tall  prairie 
grass  afire,  and  over  the  site  of  the  coming 
city  there  blazed  on  that  parched  day  of 
September  5,  1858,  a  conflagration  no  less 
formidable  than  war.  It  enveloped,  but  could 
not  stay  the  pursuing  column.  Destiny  was 
striding  through  flame  and  blood  that  day 
to  open  a  way  for  civilized  occupation  of  the 
Pacific  Northwest.  Hundreds  of  painted 
warriors,  including  the  leader  of  the  Palou- 
ses,  a  chief  of  the  Pend  d'  Oreilles,  one  of 
the  chiefs  of  the  Cceur  d'  Alenes,  and  two 
brothers  of  Spokane  Gary,  the  commander  of 
the  savage  army,  lay  dead. 

As  if  by  a  miracle,  not  one  of  Colonel 
Wright's  soldiers  fell,  a  further  proof  to  the 
Indians  that  their  evil  goddess  had  presided 
over  the  conflict.  In  token  of  their  subjec- 
tion they  brought  their  wives,  children,  horses, 
and  all  portable  belongings  and  made  complete 
offering  at  the  feet  of  their  conqueror.  Thus 
the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Spokane  became 
the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  striking  and 


Spokane  521 

significant  triumphs  of  civilized  man  over  the 
aborigines  of  the  American  continent.  What 
William  Henry  Harrison  did  at  Tippecanoe 
for  the  old  Northwest  in  scattering  the  allied 
natives  under  Tecumseh,  Colonel  Wright  ac- 
complished at  Spokane  Plains  for  the  North- 
west in  demolishing  the  league  of  tribes  under 
the  Spokanes.  It  is  true  that  Chief  Joseph 
later,  emulating  the  ambitions  of  Black  Hawk, 
sought  to  reunite  the  tribes  in  rebellion  against 
the  whites,  but  though  he  succeeded  in  stir- 
ring the  Federal  Government  to  vigilant  cam- 
paigns, he  failed  in  his  great  object,  just  as 
did  the  successor  of  Tecumseh.  Wright's 
sway  was  undisputed.  Indians  convicted  of 
crimes  he  ordered  hanged.  Superfluous  horses 
were  shot.  He  spread  terror  as  he  moved, 
and  peace  followed  in  his  footsteps. 

But  the  Civil  War  and  financial  panic  de- 
layed the  Western  movement.  In  1863  there 
were  but  ninety  registered  citizens  in  the  Spo- 
kane country.  And  when  the  first  sawmill 
came,  in  1873,  ^ts  wheels  revolved  slowly,  for 
the  failure  of  Jay  Cooke  delayed  the  transcon- 
tinental railway,  that  was  to  connect  the  'city 
with  the  East.  Eight  years  later,  just  twenty 
years  ago,  the  first  locomotive  rumbled  into 


522 


Spokane 


the  new  settlement.  Now  there  was  to  be  a 
city.  On  September  ist  of  that  year  came  the 
first  lawyer,  J.  Kennedy  Stout,  and  it  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  spirit  that  has  ever  continued 
to  quicken  the  activities  of  the  community  that 

four  days  after 
his  arrival  he 
had  drafted  a 
charter  for  the 
city,  taken  the 
necessary  legal 
steps  toward  its 
incorporation, 
and  had  been 
chosen  its  at- 
torney. 

In  1885,  the 
city,  numbering 
two  thousand 

people,  was  an  alert  and  distributing  centre. 
Grain  was  pouring  in  from  the  fertile  acres  of 
the  Palouse  to  be  ground  into  flour,  and  the 
time  was  at  hand  when  a  remarkable  discovery 
in  the  neighboring  mountains  of  Idaho  was  to 
turn  the  tide  of  travel  toward  Spokane,  and  in 
less  than  a  decade  develop  it  into  the  greatest 
railroad  centre  west  of  Chicago.  It  was  in 


J.   KENNEDY  STOUT. 


Spokane  523 

that  year  that  three  men  and  an  ass,  in  the 
Coeur  d'  Alenes,  a  few  miles  from  Spokane, 
camped  toward  night  in  a  desolate  canon. 
Their  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted.  They 
held  forlorn  council,  and  decided  to  abandon 
their  search  for  mines  in  those  gloomy  and 
precipitous  solitudes.  Toward  sundown  the 
animal  strayed  from  its  tether.  They  found 
it  gazing  across  the  ravine  at  a  reflected  gleam 
of  the  setting  sun.  A  marvellous  series  of  ore 
seams  had  mirrored  the  light.  The  dumb 
beast  had  discovered  the  greatest  deposits  of 
galena  on  the  globe.  The  whole  mountain 
was  a  mine. 

Within  an  hour  after  the  arrival  of  the  sen- 
sational news  at  Spokane,  that  city's  unparal- 
leled boom  began.  Prospectors,  engineers, 
and  capitalists  from  the  four  corners  of  the 
Republic  hurried  to  the  new  city.  A  railway 
magnate  rode  out  on  horseback  to  view  the 
mountain,  and  within  four  months  from  the 
day  of  his  visit  ore  was  being  shipped  by  rail 
to  Spokane.  North  and  south,  for  three 
hundred  miles,  mines  were  found  on  every 
mountainside,  and  every  additional  discovery 
hastened  Spokane's  growth  and  quickened  the 
fever  of  its  speculation.  As  a  local  historian 


524  Spokane 

said,  "  Men  went  to  sleep  at  night  on  straw 
mattresses,  and  woke  to  find  themselves  on 
velvet  couches  stuffed  with  greenbacks." 
Wealth  waited  for  men  at  every  corner.  The 
delirium  of  speculation  whirled  the  sanest 
minds.  Of  the  many  clergymen,  for  example, 
who  arrived  to  advocate  the  perfecting  of 
titles  to  homes  not  made  with  hands,  eleven 
abdicated  the  pulpit  and,  indifferent  to  the 
menace  of  moth  and  rust,  laid  up  substantial 
treasure. 

Five  years  from  the  discovery  of  the  mines 
in  the  Cceur  d'  Alenes  the  city  numbered 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  Fire  swept  over 
it  and  laid  twenty-two  solid  squares  in  ashes. 
Before  the  ruins  cooled,  the  city  was  being  re- 
built, this  time  in  steel  and  brick  and  stone. 
The  Spokesman-Review,  which  began  its  ed- 
itorial career  in  a  small,  discarded  chapel,  soon 
moved  into  a  ten-story  structure,  and  that  evo- 
lution was,  in  epitome,  the  story  of  the  city. 
Architects  of  some  renown  designed  palaces 
and  chateaux  for  the  wealthy.  Every  citizen 
hoped  to  outdazzle  his  neighbor  in  the  beauty 
of  his  home,  and  this  has  resulted  in  giving 
Spokane  unique  distinction  in  architectural 
impressiveness. 


• 


THE  "SPOKESMAN-REVIEW  BUILDING. 
525 


526  Spokane 

Though  Spokane  has  had  abundant  share 
of  that  rampant  Western  virility,  the  story  of 
whose  unrestraint  would  constitute  a  daring 
contribution  to  profane  history,  the  city  from 
the  start  displayed  a  dominating  purpose  that 
made  for  civic  righteousness.  It  is  true  that 
during  its  earlier  years  there  were  many  mur- 
ders in  Spokane,  for  citizens,  in  the  midst  of 
its  hurrying  events,  were  impatient  of  prolix 
complaints  and  the  tardy  judgments  of  the 
law.  Nor  did  this  reckless  code  much  con- 
cern- the  hangman,  for  the  legal  execution  of  a 
citizen  in  Spokane  would  have  been  regarded 
much  as  the  world  would  now  look  upon  the 
shuddering  crime  of  burning  a  Christian  at 
the  stake  ;  yet  in  its  blood-shedding  there  was 
little,  if  any,  of  the  wanton  element  of  an- 
archy, and  upon  few  occasions  in  the  history 
of  the  Northwest  has  crime  stooped  to  assas- 
sinate from  ambush.  Outwardly  calm,  but 
with  desperation  in  his  mood,  the  insulted  ap- 
proached the  object  of  his  wrath  and  warned 
him  to  "heel"  himself.  Inevitable  shooting 
marked  their  next  meeting,  and  their  funerals 
were  not  infrequently  held  simultaneously. 

The  bad  man  of  melodrama  is  an  execrable 
creation  of  fiction,  whose  counterpart  was  not 


Spokane  527 

long  tolerated  in  Spokane's  career,  and  who 
does  not  seem  to  have  made  his  presence  felt 
in  other  sections  of  the  West.  A  desperado 
of  the  early  days  sent  word  from  a  neighbor- 
ing town  that,  because  of  some  dispute,  he 
would  kill  a  certain  Spokane  citizen  on  sight. 
The  community  could  not  afford  to  lose  an 
influential  pioneer,  and  the  city  fathers  met 
to  consider  the  outlaw's  menace.  They  de- 
cided that,  inasmuch  as  they  would  be  called 
upon  to  execute  him  ultimately,  they  would 
better  hang  him  before  he  had  opportunity  to 
pull  his  criminal  trigger,  and  to  this  pro- 
gramme they  pledged  their  official  honor  and 
forwarded  notice  of  their  grim  deliberation  to 
the  desperado,  who  thereupon  deemed  it  ex- 
pedient to  strike  the  Lolo  trail  that  led  to  less 
discriminating  frontiers.  Spokane  has  out- 
lived its  lawless  days.  For  several  years  it 
enjoyed  the  police  protection  of  a  noted  ban- 
dit-catcher, whose  nerve  was  unfailing  and 
whose  aim  was  sure.  The  ensuing  hegira  of 
criminal  classes  was  a  spectacle  for  other  cities 
to  contemplate  with  awe.  During  his  stern 
regime,  a  riotous  stranger,  mistaking  the  tem- 
per of  the  community,  flourished  weapons  and 
for  a  few  agonizing  moments  made  pedestrians 


528  Spokane 

* 

his  targets.  The  clamor  brought  the  cool  chief 
of  police.  "  Did  you  subdue  the  stranger  ?  " 
he  was  afterward  asked.  "  We  buried  him  the 
next  day,"  was  the  reply. 

In  the  few  years  that  have  ensued  since  the 
country's  occupation  by  the  whites,  the  once 
masterful  Spokane  tribe  has  degenerated,  the 
Indians  around  Spokane  to-day  shambling 
about  under  the  generic  epithet  of  "  siwash  "  ; 
and  a  writer  visiting  this  region  in  recent 
days  came  to  the  etymological  conclusion  that 
the  first  syllable  in  their  unhappy  title  stood 
for  "  never." 

Though  Spokane  is  famous,  its  precise  lo- 
cality is  not  generally  known.  When  it  be- 
came ambitious  and  first  held  expositions,  it 
ordered  lithographic  posters  from  Chicago. 
They  came  representing  steamboats  plying 
placidly  in  a  river  whose  falls  are  as  deadly  as 
Niagara's.  Spokane  is  twenty- four  hours' 
ride  from  the  cities  of  Puget  Sound.  It  is 
three  days'  journey  from  San  Francisco,  and 
to  go  from  Spokane  to  Helena  or  Butte  is 
like  travelling  from  Chicago  to  Denver.  Its 
future  must  be  great.  It  has  no  rival.  Eight 
railroads,  three  of  them  transcontinental,  as- 
sert its  supremacy.  Southward  stretches  the 


53°  Spokane 

most  prolific  grain  empire  in  the  world.  Al- 
most boundless  forests  of  valuable  timber 
cover  surrounding  mountains  to  the  north 
and  east,  whose  mineral  wealth  is  beyond 
compute. 

A  typical  Westerner,  in  an  interesting  auto- 
biography, states  that  the  ass  that  discovered 
the  mines  of  the  Cceur  d'Alene,  and  thus 
caused  a  stampede  of  civilization  to  Spokane, 
was  buried  with  the  ceremonial  honors  due 
a  potentate.  It  takes  conspicuous  place  in 
distinguished  company.  On  the  heights  of 
Peor  an  altar  was  reared  to  canonize  the  ass 
that  saw  the  Light  the  prophet  Balaam  all 
but  passed.  An  ass  by  its  braying  wrought 
the  salvation  of  Vesta,  and  the  animal's  coro- 
nation was  an  event  in  the  festival  of  that  god- 
dess. For  ages  the  Procession  of  the  Ass 
was  a  solemn  rite  in  religious  observances. 
In  Spokane,  a  favorite  canvas  pictures  the 
Cceur  d'Alene  immortal  gazing  enraptured 
across  a  mountain  chasm  at  shining  ledges  of 
galena.  When  explaining  the  various  causes 
of  the  matchless  development  of  Spokane  and 
its  tributary  region,  the  resident,  in  merry 
mood,  does  not  forget  to  pilot  the  visitor  to 
this  quaint  memorial.  Afterward  there  was 


532  Spokane 

litigation  over  the  mineral  wealth  now  valued 
at  $4,000,000  located  by  this  animal,  the  out- 
come of  which  was  the  following  decision 
handed  down  by  Judge  Norman  Buck  of  the 
District  Court  of  Idaho  : 

"  From  the  evidence  of  the  witnesses,  this  Court  is 
of  the  opinion  that  the  Bunker  Hill  mine  was  dis- 
covered by  the  jackass,  Phil  O'Rourke,  and  N.  S.  Kel- 
logg ;  and  as  the  jackass  is  the  property  of  the  plaintiffs, 
Cooper  &  Peck,  they  are  entitled  to  a  half  interest  in 
the  Bunker  Hill,  and  a  quarter  interest  in  the  Sullivan 
claims." 

Spokane  has  a  rare  climate  of  cloudless  days. 
The  Indians  say  that  once  it  shared  the  fogs 
and  copious  rains  of  the  seacoast,  but  that 
their  tutelary  god,  ascending  to  the  heavens, 
slew  the  Thunderer,  and  that  thenceforth  they 
dwelt  under  radiant  skies,  and  were  called 
Spokanes,  or  Sons  of  the  Sun. 

A  college  of  artists  could  not  have  devised 
a  more  beautiful  location  for  a  city.  It  is  set 
in  a  gigantic  amphitheatre  two  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level.  High  walls  of  basalt,  pictu- 
resque with  spruce  and  cedar  and  pine,  form 
the  city's  rim.  Against  this  background  have 
been  built  mansions  that  would  adorn  Fifth 
Avenue  or  the  Circles  of  the  national  capital. 


Spokane  533 

Forming  the  city's  southern  border  winds  an 
abysmal  gorge,  and  along  its  brink  has  been 
built  one  of  the  city's  fashionable  boulevards. 
The  cataracts  of  the  Spokane  some  day  must 
inspire  poets.  In  some  parts  of  the  city, 
affording  adornments  for  numberless  gardens, 
are  volcanic,  pyramidal  rocks.  The  Indians 
say  that  these  columns  are  the  petrified  forms 
of  amazons  who,  issuing  from  the  woods,  were 
about  to  plunge  into  the  river  for  a  bath,  igno- 
rant of  the  water  demon,  when  Speelyai  to 
save  them  turned  them  into  stone. 

It  is  significant  of  the  lure  of  Spokane  that 
men  who  have  accumulated  millions  and  sold 
their  mines  still  make  it  their  place  of  perma- 
nent residence.  Though  the  city  as  it  is  to- 
day has  been  built  in  the  dozen  years  that 
have  elapsed  since  its  great  fire,  there  is  no 
hint  of  hasty  development  within  its  bound- 
aries. Singular  fertility  in  its  soil  has  so 
fostered  its  shade  trees  and  its  gardens  that 
a  sense  is  conveyed  of  years  of  affluent  ease 
and  attention  to  aesthetic  detail.  Spokane  is 
in  many  respects  the  most  consummate  em- 
bodiment on  the  continent  of  that  typical 
American  genius  that  has  redeemed  the  wil- 
derness of  the  frontier. 


PORTLAND 

PACIFIC   NORTH- 


"  Where  rolls  the  Oregon." — Bryant. 
BY  THOMAS  L.  COLE 

ONE  autumn  evening  in  1843,  A.  M.  Over- 
ton  and  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  two  residents  of 
Oregon  City,  on  their  way  home  from  Van- 
couver, landed  from  their  canoe  and  pitched 
their  tent  for  the  night  under  the  pine  trees 
upon  the  west  bank  of  the  Willamette  River. 
Before  they  resumed  their  journey,  the  next 
day,  they  had  projected  a  town  upon  the  site 
of  their  encampment.  Within  a  few  months, 
a  clearing  was  made  and  a  log  cabin  built. 
From  this  beginning  grew  the  present  city  of 
Portland. 

But  our  story  must  go  back  of  this  begin- 
ning, for  the  historical  significance  of  Portland 

535 


536  Portland 

lies  not  so  much  in  the  fact  that  it  is  to-day 
the  great  metropolis  of  that  vast  territory, 
once  all  called  Oregon,  and  now  divided  into 
the  States  of  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  and 
parts  of  Wyoming  and  Montana,  not  to  men- 
tion British  Columbia  ;  but  its  significance  is 
rather  to  be  sought  in  the  consideration  that 
in  Portland  culminated  and  found  final  form 
the  metropolitan  life  of  Oregon  Territory, 
which,  in  its  earlier  and  richer  historical  pe- 
riod, found  expression  successively  in  Astoria, 
Vancouver,  and  Oregon  City.  Thus,  for  the 
essential  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  we  must  go 
back  to  the  embryo  metropolis  established  by 
Astor  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River. 
This  point  of  departure,  while  relatively 
remote,  yet  carries  us  back  over  less  than  a 
century  of  time. 

Nearly  two  hundred  years  had  passed  after 
Henry  Hudson  sailed  the  Half -Moon  up  the 
North  River  before  the  waters  of  the  mighty 
Oregon  were  disturbed  by  any  craft  save 
the  Indian's  canoe.  Beyond  suspicions  and 
reports  of  Indians,  the  great  "  River  of  the 
West "  was  unknown,  and  that  vast  territory 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  which  it  drains 


Portland  537 

was  undiscovered  until  April  29,  1792,  when 
Captain  Gray,  commanding  the  Columbia 
Rediviva,  from  Boston,  crossed  its  bar  and 
landed  upon  its  bank,  to  the  consternation  of 
the  Indians,  who  now  saw  a  white  face  for  the 
first  time.  Gray 
named  the  river 
after  his  vessel, 
the  Columbia, 
and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  coun- 
try in  the  name 
of  the  United 
States.  A  few 
months  later, 
Broughton,  a 
lieutenant  of  the 
explorer  Van- 
couver, to  whose 

'  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

incredulous  ears 

Gray  had  communicated  his  discovery,  en- 
tered the  Columbia,  and  in  turn  claimed  every- 
thing in  the  name  of  King  George.  These 
conflicting  claims  furnish  a  key  to  the  critical 
period  in  the  history  of  the  Columbia  River 
territory.  For  a  long  time  neither  America 
nor  Great  Britain  forced  a  determination 


538  Portland 

of  its  claim,  and  a  succession  of  treaties  gave 
to  the  citizens  of  both  countries  equal  rights 
in  the  territory.  Each  government,  how- 
ever, encouraged  its  citizens  to  make  good 
the  national  claim  by  actual  possession.  The 
first  attraction  to  Oregon  Territory  was  that 
which  led  Captain  Gray,  with  other  expedi- 
tions, to  the  coast,  viz.,  the  abundance  of  fur- 
bearing  animals.  The  first  British  occupation 
was  that  of  the  Northwest  Fur  Company  of 
Canada,  which  pushed  some  posts  across  the 
Rockies  to  the  far  north.  The  way  for  Amer- 
ican occupation  was  opened  when  the  success- 
ful explorations  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  ex- 
pedition, which  camped  over  the  winter  of 
1805  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  demon- 
strated the  practicability  of  an  overland  route 
to  Oregon.  Into  this  opening  John  Jacob 
Astor  promptly  entered.  As  the  "  American 
Fur  Company,"  Astor  had  successfully  checked 
the  aggressions  of  the  powerful  Canadian 
companies  in  the  northern  United  States.  He 
now  projected  a  scheme,  under  the  name  of 
the  "  Pacific  Fur  Company,"  whereby  to 
check  the  movements  of  these  same  com- 
panies beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  to 
possess  the  new  country  for  the  United  States. 


Portland  539 

The  heart  of  his  plan  and  purpose  was  a  set- 
tlement at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River. 
Says  Washington  Irving,  to  whose  fascinating 
book,  Astoria,  the  reader  must  go  for  the 
story  of  this  magnificent,  if  ill-starred,  en- 
terprise : 

"  He  considered  his  projected  establishment  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  as  the  emporium  to  an  immense 
commerce,  as  a  colony  that  would  form  the  germ  of  a 
wide  civilization,  that  would,  in  fact,  carry  the  Ameri- 
can population  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  spread 
it  along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific." 

Jefferson,  who  had  sent  out  the  Lewis  and 
Clark  expedition,  heartily  endorsed  this  pro- 
ject, as  did  also  his  Cabinet.  In  prosecution 
of  Astor's  purpose,  on  April  12,  1811,  the 
Tonquin,  the  precursor  of  an  intended  "  an- 
nual vessel,"  bringing  partners,  clerks,  voya- 
geurs,  and  artisans,  as  well  as  material  and 
merchandise,  crossed  the  bar  of  the  Colum- 
bia and  cast  anchor.  Point  George,  as  it 
had  been  named  by  Broughton,  was  selected 
as  a  site  for  the  embryo  metropolis,  and  was 
renamed  Astoria,  after  the  great  commoner 
whose  enterprise  it  represented.  Here,  after 
the  Tonqiiin  had  sailed  away  to  its  tragic 


54°  Portland 

fate,  the  little  colony  proceeded  to  estab- 
lish itself.  A  fort,  a  stone  mansion,  and 
other  buildings  were  erected,  and  a  schooner, 
the  Dolly,  was  constructed  and  launched. 
The  colonists  did  some  trading  with  the 
neighboring  Indians  but  delayed  to  reach  out 
into  the  surrounding  country  until  the  arrival 
of  Wilson  Price  Hunt,  who  was  bringing  an 
expedition  overland  and  was  to  establish  suit- 
able trading  posts  en  route.  Hunt,  who  was 
an  American  and  the  chief  partner  under  Mr. 
Astor,  was  to  be  in  charge  at  Astoria.  While 
engaged  in  their  work  of  construction,  the 
colonists  were  disturbed  by  rumors  that  their 
rivals,  the  Northwest  Company,  had  entered 
their  territory  and  established  a  post  on  the 
Spokane  River.  This  rumor  was  confirmed 
when  a  canoe  came  down  the  Columbia  flying 
the  British  standard,  and  a  gentleman,  step- 
ping ashore,  introduced  himself  as  David 
Thompson,  an  astronomer  and  a  partner  of 
the  Northwest  Company.  McDougal,  who 
was  temporarily  in  charge,  was,  like  several 
of  Astor's  partners,  a  Scotchman,  and  a  former 
Northwest  employe.  This  visitor,  therefore, 
was  treated  as  an  honored  guest  instead  of  as  a 
spy,  which  he  really  was.  However,  it  was 


o   ° 

H     5 


542  Portland 

determined  that  David  Stuart  should  at  once 
take  a  small  party  and  set  up  a  post  as  a 
check  to  the  one  on  the  Spokane,  which  he 
did  at  Oakinagen. 

Another  interruption  was  occasioned  by  the 
shocking  news  of  the  massacre  of  the  Tonquiris 
crew  by  Indians  and  the  destruction  of 
the  vessel.  To  grief  at  the  loss  of  their 
friends  was  added  fear  of  the  Indians,  who 
they  now  suspected  were  plotting  against 
them.  However,  McDougal's  wit  served  and 
saved  them.  He  threatened  to  uncork  the 
smallpox,  which  he  professed  to  hold  confined 
in  a  bottle,  and  so  gained  the  fear  of  the  In- 
dians, and  the  title,  "  The  great  smallpox 
chief." 

After  a  gloomy  winter,  Astoria  was  cheered 
in  the  spring  by  the  arrival  of  Hunt  and  his 
party.  These,  after  a  journey  the  account  of 
which  reads  like  a  romance,  through  sufferings 
of  all  kinds  and  over  difficulties  all  but  insur- 
mountable, reached  their  destination,  haggard 
and  in  rags. 

The  arrival,  soon  after,  of  the  annual  vessel, 
the  Beaver,  with  reinforcements  and  supplies, 
cheered  them  all  and  made  possible  the  estab- 
lishment of  interior  posts.  The  Beaver  pro- 


Portland  543 

ceeded  to  Alaska,  in  compliance  with  an 
agreement  between  Astor  and  the  Russian 
Fur  Company,  which  had  been  made  with  the 
consent  of  both  governments  ;  and  Hunt  went 
with  her.  The  absence  of  Hunt,  which  was 
prolonged  by  untoward  events,  proved  fatal  to 
the  Astoria  enterprise.  Just  as  the  partners 
from  the  several  posts  were  bringing  to  the 
rendezvous  the  first-fruits  of  what  promised 
an  abundant  harvest  in  the  future,  McTav- 
ish,  another  Northwest  partner,  surprised 
Astoria's  people  with  the  alarming  news  that 
war  had  been  declared  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, and  that  he  was  expecting  a  British 
armed  vessel  to  set  up  a  Northwest  establish- 
ment at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Without 
waiting  for  the  appearance  of  this  vessel,  with- 
out any  attempt  to  send  their  treasure  inland, 
and  although  the  Astor  Company  was  in  a 
stronger  trading  position  than  its  rival,  Mc- 
Dougal,  chief  factor  in  Hunt's  absence,  sold 
out  to  McTavish  all  Astor's  property  for  one 
third  its  value.  Opposition  was  offered  by 
some  of  the  partners  and  the  American  clerks 
were  furious,  but  Hunt's  ominous  absence 
dampened  opposition  and  cleared  McDougal's 
way.  It  is  significant  that  McDougal  soon 


544  Portland 

after  received  a  valuable  share  in  the  North- 
west Company.  Had  Astor  been  there  he 
would  have  "  defied  them  all."  "  Had  our  place 
and  our  property  been  fairly  captured  I  should 
have  preferred  it,"  wrote  Mr.  Astor  to  Hunt, 
who  doubtless  shared  the  spirit  of  his  chief. 
Shortly  after  the  sale,  a  British  officer  took 
formal  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 
of  his  Britannic  Majesty,  and  Astoria  be- 
came Fort  George.  Although  the  treaty  of 
Ghent  restored  the  status  ante  helium,  Oregon 
remained  for  many  years  in  the  actual  pos- 
session of  England,  through  the  occupation 
of  its  chartered  companies.  Mr.  Astor's 
desire  *to  reoccupy  Astoria  received  no  back- 
ing by  the  government  and  so  no  American 
settlement  was  even  attempted  until  Captain 
Wyeth's  venture  at  Fort  William  in  1832, 
which  proved  futile. 

This  change  from  American  to  British  pos- 
session was  marked  by  a  transfer  of  the  me- 
tropolis from  Fort  George  to  Fort  Vancouver. 
When  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  upon  the  ab- 
sorption of  the  Northwestern  by  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  in  1821,  was  sent  out  as  "Chief- 
Factor  of  the  Columbia  River  Territory,"  he 
declared  that  the  chief  post  should  be  as  cen- 


546  Portland 

tral  as  possible  to  the  trade  ;  that  after  leaving 
the  mouth  of  the  river  there  is  no  disad- 
vantage in  going  to  the  head  of  navigation  ; 
and  that  a  permanent  settlement  must  be  sur- 
rounded by  an  agricultural  country.  These 
considerations  which  took  McLoughlin  to 
Vancouver  are  those  which  to-day  determine 
the  commercial  strength  of  Portland,  across 
the  river  from  Vancouver.  Thus  Fort  George 
sunk  to  a  subordinate  position.  After  the 
boundary  was  determined  a  new  American 
town  sprung  up  under  the  old  name  Astoria, 
where  there  are  large  salmon  canneries. 

Vancouver,  with  the  outlying  posts  scattered 
throughout  the  territory,  was  the  centre  of  a 
semi-feudal  organization,  and  its  life  was  pic- 
turesque and  full  of  charm. 

Within  the  palisades  was  the  residence  of 
the  Chief  Factor  ("Governor"  by  courtesy), 
surrounded  by  those  of  the  other  gentlemen 
servants  of  the  Company ;  together  with  the 
stores,  offices,  and  all  other  important  build- 
ings. Between  the  fort  and  the  river  lay  a 
clean,  neat,  and  decorous  village  of  about  forty 
log  houses,  occupied  by  the  inferior  servants 
of  the  Company,  who  were,  for  the  most  part, 
French  Canadians.  Nearly  every  man,  from 


Portland  547 

the  "  Governor  "  down,  had  an  Indian  wife ; 
for  no  white  woman  had  as  yet  set  foot  in 
Oregon.  One  of  these  servants  writes  :  "  They 
all  had  Indian  women,  never  more  than  one  ; 
old  Dr.  McLoughlin  would  hang  them  if  they 
had."  The  farm,  blacksmith's  shop,  and  other 
productive  activities  at  Vancouver  not  only 
furnished  the  subordinate  posts  of  the  Com- 
pany, but  provisions  were  sent  to  Alaska,  ex- 
ports were  made  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and 
the  American  settlers  were  dependent  upon 
this  post  for  many  of  their  supplies.  Not 
only  was  Vancouver  the  trading  centre,  it 
was  also  the  "heart  and  brains  of  Oregon 
Territory."  The  post  hospital  offered  relief 
to  American  settlers  as  well  as  to  the  subor- 
dinate posts.  Here  was  established  the  first 
school  in  the  territory.  The  services  of  the 
English  Church  were  regularly  maintained,  and 
opportunity  was  offered  to  missionaries  of  all 
denominations  to  hold  service.  An  annual 
dispatch  kept  open  communication  with  the 
outside  world  and  brought  books  and  papers 
from  the  centres  of  civilization. 

The  central  figure  and  inspiring  genius  of 
Vancouver  was  Dr.  McLoughlin,  who  was 
a  striking  and  remarkable  character.  The 


548  Portland 

remoteness  of  his  post,  combined  with  a  self- 
reliant  nature,  made  him  practically  indepen- 
dent of  his  superior  officers  in  Montreal  or 
London.  He  was  indeed,  absolute  monarch 
of  all  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. But  the  "  good  doctor,"  though  firm  in 
character,  was  a  benevolent  and  a  beneficent 
despot.  "  Standing  over  six  feet,  six  inches, 
in  height,  he  was  of  commanding  presence, 
with  courtly,  yet  affable  manners."  Red  man 
and  white  man  alike  revered  and  loved  him, 
for  to  each  alike  he  was  kind,  and  at  the  same 
time  just.  He  was  the  soul  of  hospitality  and 
every  traveller  found  at  Vancouver  a  ready 
welcome  to  a  seat  at  the  rich  but  temperate 
board  in  the  common  dining-hall,  and  a  bed 
in  the  doctor's  house.  Library,  horses,  and 
boats  were  all  at  the  visitor's  command.  This 
spirit  of  hospitality,  joined  to  a  freedom  from 
national  prejudice,  characterized  the  attitude 
of  McLoughlin  towards  the  missionaries  and 
other  American  immigrants  who  ultimately 
began  to  come  into  the  territory.  There  was 
scarcely  a  party  which  was  not  indebted  to 
him  for  material  assistance  in  getting  started, 
as  well  as  for  a  courteous  welcome  at  the  fort. 
Some  indeed  owed  their  lives  to  him  and  the 


Portland  549 

other  officers  at  Vancouver,  and  once  at  least 
their  prompt  help  was  in  marked  contrast  to 
the  indifference  of  the  American  settlement. 
To  this  service  the  missionary  records  bear 
constant  testimony,  and  Lieutenant  Fremont, 
"  the  pathfinder,"  says  in  his  report  :  "  I  found 
many  American  Emigrants  at  the  Fort.  Others 
had  already  crossed  the  river  to  their  land  of 
promise — the  Walamette  valley." 

We  must  now  follow  these  American  immi- 
grants, for  with  them  the  political  dominance 
is  to  pass  from  Great  Britain  to  the  United 
States,  and  the  metropolis  to  move  from 
Vancouver  to  the  Falls  of  the  Willamette. 
Curiously  enough,  McLoughlin  in  his  own 
course  will  typify  this  transition. 

The  very  first  settlers  in  the  Willamette  Val- 
ley were  servants  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
who  settled  there  by  the  advice  and  with  the 
assistance  of  McLoughlin,  who  from  the  first 
had  properly  estimated  the  value  of  this  river 
and  valley.  He  himself  took  possession  of  the 
falls,  with  the  adjacent  land,  and  held  them  as 
a  personal  claim,  "  until  such  time  as  there 
should  be  established  a  government  which 
could  give  him  title."  The  town  which  he  de- 
veloped on  this  site  he  called  Oregon  City. 


55°  Portland 

The  first  American  settlers  on  the  Wil- 
lamette were  the  Methodist  missionary  party, 
under  Jason  Lee,  which  crossed  the  plains 
in  1834.  To  these  McLoughlin  gave  material 
aid.  Of  the  Canadians,  Lee's  nephew  writes  : 
"  They  gave  us  a  very  polite  and  generous 
welcome  to  the  best  they  could  set  before  us." 

Lee's  mission  was  to  the  Indians,  but  meet- 
ing with  great  discouragement  in  this  direction, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  the  more  interest- 
ing task  of  forming  a  political  state,  which 
should  be  American  and  also  Methodist.  The 
missionary  work  was  not  abandoned,  but  only 
subordinated.  In  furtherance  of  his  political 
plans,  Lee  secured  both  money  and  immigrants 
from  the  eastern  States  and  invoked  the 
protection  of  the  United  States  Government. 
Since  1820  there  had  been  a  party  in  Con- 
gress, representing  a  sentiment  in  the  country 
outside,  which  desired  to  abrogate  our  treaty 
with  England  and  establish  our  government 
over  the  whole  of  Oregon  Territory.  But 
notwithstanding  an  "  Oregon  fever,"  developed 
by  Lee  and  others,  the  United  States  was 
not  yet  ready  for  any  action  with  regard  to 
the  new  territory.  In  the  meantime  immigra- 
tions from  the  western  States  had  brought  to 


Portland  551 

the  Willamette  Valley  a  number  of  people 
differing  in  spirit  from  the  missionaries  and 
not  at  all  in  harmony  with  them.  These  after 
a  while  outnumbered  the  adherents  of  the 
Mission.  Hence  arose  three  parties  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Willamette,  two  American  and 
one  British.  The  new  American  party  was  in 
favor  of  forming  a  provisional  government, 
which  should  maintain  order  until  the  boundary 
question  now  burning  between  England  and 
America  should  be  decided.  The  missionary 
party  accepted  this  as  an  evil  less  than  the  rule 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  which  was  the 
only  established  authority.  The  Canadians 
wanted  only  quiet.  As  a  result,  in  1845  was 
completed  the  organization  of  an  independent 
commonwealth,  which  recognized  the  sove- 
reignty of  neither  America  nor  Great  Britain, 
but  which  allowed  every  man  to  retain  his  in- 
dividual citizenship  under  either  government 
until  the  territorial  question  should  be  settled. 
Against  the  wish  of  most  of  the  missionary 
party,  but  upon  the  insistence  of  the  more  lib- 
eral Americans,  the  plan  was  extended  so  as 
to  include  the  country  north  of  the  Columbia 
River,  and  McLoughlin  was  invited  to  unite  in 
this  organization.  The  Chief  Factor  thought 


55 2  Portland 

it  wise  to  put  the  property  of  his  Company 
under  the  protection  of  a  government  which 
would  probably  be  formed  whether  or  no,  and 
therefore  he  entered  the  organization. 

The  seat  of  the  new  government  was  called 
by  the  legislature,  "  Willamette  Falls,"  but  the 
place  was  afterwards  incorporated  under  the 
name  of  Oregon  City  given  it  by  McLoughlin, 
its  founder. 

There  had  long  been  disaffection  in  England 
over  McLoughlin's  liberal  attitude  towards  the 
Americans.  A  climax  was  reached  when  Lieu- 
tenants Warre  and  Vasouver,  who  came  to  the 
Columbia  River  shortly  after  the  formation 
of  the  provisional  government,  reported 
McLoughlin  to  be  a  disloyal  subject,  if  not 
an  unfaithful  servant.  The  Chief  Factor's  de- 
fence was  complete  and  he  was  not  without 
friends,  both  in  the  Council  of  the  Company 
and  in  the  House  of  Commons.  However, 
moved  by  a  combination  of  considerations,  he 
resigned  his  office,  retired  to  Oregon  City, 
and,  after  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  ques- 
tion, became  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
For  this  much-vexed  boundary  question  was 
settled  by  treaty  in  1846.  Polk  was  elected 
upon  the  platform,  "  Fifty-four  forty,  or  fight." 


Portland  553 

But  more  moderate  counsels  prevailed,  and  a 
compromise  was  made  upon  the  forty-ninth 
parallel  of  latitude.  This  determination  of 
the  boundary  line  had  as  a  result  the  extin- 
guishing of  the  Hudson  Bay  trade  on  the 
Columbia  River,  and  Vancouver  was  pur- 
chased by  the  United  States  for  an  army  post, 
which  is  still  maintained.  A  town  has  also 
grown  up  outside  the  reservation. 

Seldom  has  fate  been  more  ironical  than  in 
its  treatment  of  Dr.  McLoughlin.  Driven 
from  Vancouver  for  his  kindness  to  the  mis- 
sionaries, he  was  now  defrauded  of  his  claim 
at  Oregon  City  by  the  missionary  party, 
and  to  accomplish  this  iniquity  anti-British 
prejudice  was  appealed  to,  in  concealment  of 
the  fact  that  the  doctor  had  applied  for  Ameri- 
can citizenship.  After  his  death,  restitution 
was  made  to  his  children.  Some  of  his  de- 
scendants now  live  in  Portland. 

In  presenting  a  portrait  of  Dr.  McLoughlin 
to  the  Oregon  Pioneers,  in  1887,  on  behalf  of 
the  city  of  Portland,  Judge  Deady  said  :  "  He 
stands  out  to-day  in  bold  relief  as  the  first 
man  in  the  history  of  this  country — the  pio- 
neer of  pioneers." 

With  the  passing  of  Vancouver,  Oregon  City 


554  Portland 

became  the  metropolis.  And  when  Oregon 
was  erected  into  a  Territory  of  the  United 
States,  in  1848,  Portland  was  as  yet  only  "a 
place  twelve  miles  from  Oregon  City." 

Shortly  after  the  incidents  mentioned  at  the 
opening  of  this  chapter,  Overton  sold  his  in- 
terest to  F.  W.  Pettygrove.  A  year  later 
Lovejoy  and  Pettygrove  erected  a  business 
building,  known  as  the  "  shingle  store,"  on 
what  is  now  the  corner  of  Front  and  Wash- 
ington streets.  Hitherto  known  as  "the  vil- 
lage "  or  "  Stumptown,"  the  little  settlement 
was  now  dignified  with  the  name  of  Portland. 
Lovejoy,  who  was  a  native  of  Boston,  wanted 
to  call  the  town  after  his  birthplace,  but  Petty- 
grove,  who  was  equally  loyal  to  Maine,  pre- 
ferred Portland,  and  the  tossing  of  a  coin  gave 
the  choice  to  Pettygrove.  What  a  pity  they 
could  not  have  compromised  on  the  Indian 
Multnomah !  Lovejoy,  who  was  a  man  of 
education  and  had  been  prominent  in  the  pro- 
visional government,  sold  his  interest  in  the 
future  city  to  Benjamin  Stark  and  eventually 
died  a  poor  man.  Other  transfers  of  interest 
made  Daniel  Lounsbury,  Stephen  Coffin,  and 
W.  W.  Chapman  partners  with  Stark  in  the 
ownership  of  the  town  site,  and  under  these 


556  Portland 

four  men  began  the  active  development  of  the 
town.  This  development,  however,  soon  met 
with  a  decided  check  from  two  events  which 
in  turn  led  to  the  subsequent  upbuilding  and 
supremacy  of  Portland. 

The  massacre  of  Whitman  and  his  compan- 
ions at  Walla  Walla  by  the  Cayuse  Indians 
led  to  a  war  of  vengeance,  which  drew  almost 
every  man  who  could  bear  arms  away  from 
normal  pursuits.  Portland  contributed  a  com- 
pany of  infantry.  The  movements  of  the 
troops,  which  rendezvoused  at  Portland  during 
this  war,  demonstrated  its  superiority  over  the 
city  at  the  falls  as  a  point  of  arrival  and  de- 
parture with  regard  to  the  Columbia  River. 
This  discovery  was  to  influence  the  future 
location  of  the  metropolis. 

The  other  event  mentioned  was  the  discov- 
ery of  gold  in  California.  The  immediate 
effect  of  this  discovery  was  a  stampede  from 
Oregon.  Portland  contained  at  one  time,  it  is 
said,  but  three  adults.  Soon,  however,  the  de- 
mand for  provisions  in  California  opened  up 
a  lucrative  trade  in  the  products  of  the  fertile 
Willamette  Valley  and  drew  men  back  to  the 
soil.  This  California  trade  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity to  develop  Portland's  advantages  which 


Portland 


557 


the  Cayuse  war  had  emphasized,  and  which 
Lovejoy  suspected  when  he  said,  "  I  observed 
the  masts  and  booms  of  vessels  which  had  been 
left  there  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  this  was 
the  place  for  a  town." 


PORTLAND  IN  1850. 


Up  to  1848,  the  annual  arrivals  in  the  Col- 
umbia had  ranged  from  three  to  eight  vessels. 
In  1849  there  were  more  than  fifty  arrivals. 
The  shore  of  the  Willamette  at  Portland  was 
lined  with  all  kinds  of  vessels,  and  wharfs  and 
warehouses  were  in  great  demand. 

It  is  upon  this  command  of  the  two  water- 


558  Portland 

ways,  with  her  superior  port,  that  the  per- 
manent commercial  supremacy  of  Portland 
rests.  The  most  conspicuous  name  in  con- 
nection with  this  development  of  Portland's 
shipping  interests  is  that  of  John  H.  Couch. 
In  1840  Captain  Couch  brought  into  the  Col- 
umbia the  first  American  trader  which  had 
crossed  the  bar  since  the  Wyeth  expedition. 
This  was  the  brig  Maryland,  from  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.  After  subsequent  voyages  he 
brought  his  family  from  Newburyport  and 
settled  in  Portland,  in  1849.  1°  partnership 
with  his  brother-in-law,  Captain  Flanders,  he 
built  wharfs  and  warehouses  and  established 
the  first  regular  shipping  business  in  the  city. 
The  first  brig  sailing  from  Portland  to  China, 
Emma  Preston,  was  dispatched  by  Couch  & 
Co. 

Such  has  been  the  development  of  Portland 
shipping  that  it  is  now  well  up  among  the 
great  ports  of  the  country.  Last  year  (1900), 
according  to  the  annual  review  by  the  Ore- 
gonian,  it  was  ahead  of  Philadelphia  and 
Baltimore.  Its  wheat  shipments  (15,858,387 
bushels)  exceeded  those  of  San  Francisco, 
and  more  than  equalled  the  combined  ship- 
ments of  Tacoma  and  Seattle. 


560 


Portland 


Henry  Villard's  great  genius  suffered  no 
aberration  when  he  selected  Portland  as  the 
centre  of  Pacific  coast  transportation.  For 
not  only  does  this  city  command  the  water- 
ways, hut  it  is 
also  the  great 
railway  centre. 
Four  transcon- 
tinental systems, 
beside  local 
lines,  make  the 
Union  Station 
their  actual  ter- 
minus.  The 
Hotel  Portland, 
one  of  Villard's 
many  projects, 
should  be  to 
Portlanders  a 
memorial  of  Vil- 
lard's brilliance 
and  public  spirit, 

as  to  the  tourist  it  offers,  with  its  elegance  and 
comforts,  a  suggestive  contrast  to  the  camp  of 
the  early  traveller. 

To  conclude  from  Portland's  rapid  growth 
and  commercial  supremacy  that  it  is  a  typical 


JUDGE  MATTHEW  P.   DEADY. 


562  Portland 

"  western "  town,  would  be  to  strike  wide  of 
the  mark.  One  must  go  east  from  Portland  to 
find  the  typical  characteristics,  good  and  bad, 
of  a  western  town.  Portland's  character  was 
largely  formed  before  the  railway  came,  for  it 
had  a  population  of  nearly  twenty  thousand 
before  there  was  connection  by  rail  with  the 
United  States.  This  population  was  made 
up  of  the  influx  from  the  Willamette  Valley, 
whose  civilization  had  been  deeply  impressed 
by  the  religious  and  educational  establish- 
ment at  its  foundation,  and  of  a  good  class 
of  immigrants  coming  directly  from  the  east- 
ern States.  A  characterization  of  Portland 
by  Judge  Deady,  in  1868,  is  illuminating: 
"  Theatrical  amusements  never  ranked  high. 
There  is  no  theatre  house  in  the  town  fit  to 
be  called  such.  On  the  other  hand,  church- 
going  is  comparatively  common." 

As  early  as  1849  some  citizens  of  Portland 
organized  an  association,  elected  trustees,  and 
built  a  school  and  meeting-house  at  a  cost  of 
over  two  thousand  dollars.  This  was  the  first 
enterprise  of  the  kind  on  the  coast.  Within 
a  few  years  all  the  prominent  religious  denom- 
inations were  represented  by  houses  of  wor- 
ship. The  earliest  of  these  buildings  were 


564  Portland 

those  of  the  Methodists  and  Congregational- 
ists.  The  Methodists,  Roman  Catholics,  and 
Episcopalians  also  supported  institutions  of 
learning  and  of  charity.  No  single  religious 
denomination  or  individual  clergyman  has  ex- 
erted such  a  commanding  influence  in  the 
religious  development  of  the  city  as  to  war- 
rant any  attempt  at  discrimination.  It  may 
be  less  invidious  if  two  among  the  many  cit- 
izens who  have  influenced  the  thought  and 
ministered  to  the  higher  non-ecclesiastical 
life  of  the  city  should  be  briefly  noticed. 
Matthew  P.  Deady,  who  was  prominent  in 
the  territorial  government  of  Oregon,  and 
whose  was  a  controlling  mind  in  framing  both 
the  organic  and  statute  law  of  the  State,  was, 
upon  the  admission  of  the  State,  appointed 
Federal  Judge,  which  office  he  held  until  his 
death.  Upon  his  appointment  he  secured  the 
location  of  the  court  at  Portland,  and  identi- 
fied himself  with  the  city.  The  city,  too,  be- 
came identified  with  him,  inasmuch  as  the 
act  of  its  incorporation  passed  the  Legislature 
as  it  came  from  his  hand.  Judge  Deady  ever 
strove  to  promote  the  higher  interests  of 
Portland,  through  his  important  office,  which 
he  filled  with  great  ability ;  through  the  in- 


566  Portland 

stitutions  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  of  which 
he  was  an  honored  member ;  and  through  the 
various  channels  which  offer  themselves  to 
the  public  spirited  citizen.  His  monument, 
perhaps,  is  the  Public  Library,  which,  with  its 
fine  building,  is  largely  the  result  of  his  inter- 
est and  efforts ;  although  much  of  the  money 
for  the  building  was  directly  derived  from  a 
bequest. 

When  it  is  known  that  the  Oregonian  has 
been  published  in  Portland  practically  since 
the  foundation  of  the  city,  and  that  it  is 
deemed  by  competent  judges  to  be  the  best 
edited  newspaper  west  of  the  Atlantic  coast, 
the  conclusion  is  not  far  away  that  the  man 
who  has  been  the  editor  and  master  mind  of 
that  journal  for  more  than  thirty  years  must 
have  wielded  an  immense  influence  upon  the 
thought  and  opinion  of  Portland  and  the 
Pacific  Northwest.  That  man  is  Harvey  W. 
Scott. 

It  is  needless  to  say,  these  two  men  do  not 
stand  alone.  C.  E.  S.  Wood,  Esq.,  might 
be  named  as  one  who  has  contributed  more 
than  any,  perhaps,  to  the  development  of  the 
city  in  the  appreciation  of  and  interest  in  art. 
Judge  George  H.  Williams,  who  was  Attorney- 


Portland  567 

General  in  Grant's  Cabinet,  might  be  cited  as 
an  example  of  those  who  have  served  the  na- 
tion as  well  as  the  city.  Others,  too,  have 
shared  in  making  Portland,  but  space  forbids 
even  the  mention  of  their  names. 

With  almost  a  hundred  thousand  inhabit- 
ants, drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and 
with  a  "  Chinatown  "  in  its  midst,  the  social 
character  of  Portland  has,  of  course,  changed 
since  1868.  And  yet  Judge  Deady's  charac- 
terization given  then  would  fairly  hold  good 
to-day.  This  means,  of  course,  that  Portland 
is  eminently  conservative,  with  the  advantages 
and  disadvantages  of  conservatism. 

In  externals,  Portland  is  an  attractive  city, 
with  the  trees  in  its  streets  and  the  lawns 
about  its  houses  and  its  wonderful  roses.  Its 
early  architecture  is  poor,  but  many  of  the 
recent  buildings,  municipal,  ecclesiastical,  com- 
mercial, domestic,  and  general,  are  not  only 
large  and  imposing,  but  good.  The  city  is 
beautifully  situated,  with  the  rivers  at  its  feet 
and  the  wooded  hills  behind  it,  and  in  the  dis- 
tance the  snow  mountains,  of  which  the  finest 
and  the  favorite  is  Hood.  Portland  sits  to- 
day mistress  of  the  North  Pacific,  and  with 
historic  and  prophetic  reasons  for  expecting 


568 


Portland 


to  be  the  metropolis  of  the  whole  Pacific  coast. 
If  the  sceptre  slips  from  her,  it  will  be  only 
because  she  lacks  the  faith,  the  courage,  and 
the  enterprise  to  enter  into  her  inheritance. 


SAN    FRANCISCO 

BY  THE  WEST  GATE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"  City  of  gold  and  destiny  " 

"  With  high  face  held  to  the  ultimate  sea." 
BY  EDWIN   MARKHAM 

IF  Xenophon  had  journeyed  westward  from 
Athens,  pressing  beyond  the  amber  caverns 
of  the  Baltic,  beyond  the  tin  mines  of  Thule, 
out  past  the  Gates  of  Hercules,  exactly  west, 
across  an  ocean  and  a  continent,  the  next 
thalatta  of  his  men  would  have  saluted  the 
Pacific  at  the  Golden  Gate  from  the  low,  shift- 
ing sand-hills  of  the  unrisen  San  Francisco. 
For  the  violet-veiled  city  of  Athene  and  the 
gray-draped  city  of  St.  Francis  are  in  one  line 
of  latitude. 

San  Francisco  crowns  the  extremity  of  a 
long,  rugged  peninsula,  a  little  north  of  the 
centre  of  California, 

569 


57°  San  Francisco 

"  The  land  that  has  the  tiger's  length, 
The  tawny  tiger's  length  of  arm," 

the  land  that  stretches  from  pine  to  palm, 
"  Haunch  in  the  cloud-rack,  paw  in  the  purring  sea." 

The  one  break  in  the  mountain  wall  of  the 
California  Coast  Range  is  the  Golden  Gate, 
the  watery  pass  that  leads  from  San  Francisco 
to  the  Pacific.  Spurs  and  peaks  and  cross 
ridges  of  this  mountain  chain  would  at  long 
range  seem  to  encompass  the  city  round  about ; 
but,  on  nearer  view,  the  edging  waters  on  three 
sides  make  her  distinctly  a  city  of  the  sea. 

Looking  from  the  bay,  past  the  fortified 
islands  of  the  city,  one  may  see  San  Francisco 
to  the  west,  rising  in  airy  beauty  on  clustered 
gray  hills.  At  night  the  city  hangs  against 
the  horizon  like  a  lower  sky,  pulsing  with 
starry  lamps.  By  day  it  stretches  in  profile 
long  and  undulating,  with  spires  and  domes 
climbing  up  the  steeps  from  a  shore  lined  with 
the  shipping  of  every  nation — felucca,  iron- 
clad, merchantman,  junk,  together  with  bevies 
of  tiny  busybody  craft,  all  of  them  circled  and 
followed  by  slow-swinging  gulls. 

For  years  after  the  magnificent,  all-inclusive 
claims  of  the  Cabots  at  Labrador  in  1497, 


572  San  Francisco 

nothing  was  known  of  the  west  coast  of  North 
America.  Cabrillo  felt  his  way  along  it  in 
1542,  claiming  it  for  Spain.  In  15/9,  Francis 
Drake,  fleeing  from  plundered  Spanish  gal- 
leons, tarried  for  repairs  beside  Cape  Reyes, 
the  Cape  of  Kings,  and  claimed  the  country, 
as  New  Albion,  for  Elizabeth  of  England. 
Although  anchored  in  a  cove  within  a  mile  of 
San  Francisco  Bay,  he  doubtless  sailed  away 
without  guessing  its  existence  behind  the  forest- 
covered  mountains. 

In  1602,  Vizcaino,  charting  the  west  for 
Spain,  as  Gosnold  was  mapping  the  east  for 
England,  made  stay  in  Drake's  old  anchorage, 
and  named  it  the  Port  of  San  Francisco. 

Notwithstanding  the  reiterated  desire  of  the 
Spanish  Crown  that  Mexico,  or  New  Spain, 
should  set  about  colonizing  upper  California, 
it  was  not  till  1 769  that  the  work  was  begun. 
Spain  needed  a  harbor  in  which  to  retire  on 
the  way  from  the  Philippines.  The  Russian 
fur-traders  were  heading  down  the  coast.  The 
French  and  the  English  were  rumored  to  be 
nearing  from  the  east.  So  it  behooved  Spain 
to  be  on  the  alert  to  maintain  her  right  to  the 
new  territory. 

Jose  de  Galvaez,  Visitador  of    Spain,  who 


San  Francisco  573 

had  been  sent  to  Mexico  with  powers  extraor- 
dinary, "  to  examine  and  reform  all  branches 
of  government,"  seized  upon  the  project  of 
colonization,  and  found  the  administrator  of 
his  plans  in  Padre  Junipero  Serra,  of  fragrant 
memory, — a  Franciscan  monk,  who  had  all  his 
life  passioned  to  save  Indians  as  a  Tamerlane 
would  have  passioned  to  destroy  them. 

Spain's  plan  of  colonization  comprehended 
a  triple  series  of  establishments  :  the  ecclesias- 
tical or  the  mission,  the  military  or  the  presidio, 
the  civil  or  the  pueblo.  The  theory  of  coloni- 
zation carried  the  idea  of  a  military  and  a 
religious  conquest  of  the  new  lands.  The 
Indians,  whenever  belligerent,  were  to  be  over- 
come by  force  ;  but  as  far  as  possible,  they  were 
to  be  drawn  into  the  mission  life  by  peaceable 
expedients. 

In  1769,  four  expeditions,  composed  of 
soldiers,  settlers,  and  Franciscan  friars,  set  out 
from  Mexico  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  colon- 
izing and  civilizing  California.  If  in  the  mists 
of  coming  ages  the  ^Eneid  of  California  be 
lost,  Spain  may  prove  her  sponsorship  of  the 
Californian  province  by  the  litany  of  seraphic 
and  apostolic  names  given  to  mountain  and 
mesa,  to  coast  and  canon.  Andalusian  names 


574  San  Francisco 

of  saints  and  angels  chime  wherever  the  padres 
stepped  or  stopped. 

One  of  the  four  expeditions,  pushing  north- 
ward by  land,  unwittingly  passed  Monterey; 
and  a  fragment  of  the  company,  while  out 
hunting,  came  suddenly  in  sight  of  the  waters 
now  known  as  the  Golden  Gate  and  the  San 
Francisco  Bay.  For  the  name  San  Francisco 
was  soon  transferred  to  this  greater  water  from 
the  old  port  known  to  Drake  and  Vizcaino. 

In  the  summer  of  1 776  a  company  of  padres, 
soldiers,  and  families,  with  stock  and  seeds, 
arrived  on  the  San  Francisco  peninsula,  and 
built  temporary  shelter  of  brush  and  tules 
plastered  with  mud.  On  September  i7th,  the 
feast  of  the  stigmata  of  St.  Francis,  solemn 
possession  was  taken  of  the  presidio  in  the 
name  of  Spain  ;  and  on  October  4th,  the  day 
of  St.  Francis,  the  mission  was  formally 
dedicated.  The  cross  was  raised,  the  Te 
Deum  was  chanted,  while  bells  and  guns 
chorused  to  sea  and  sky. 

The  mission  was  in  a  little  fertile  valley 
four  miles  from  the  Presidio,  near  a  small 
creek  now  filled  in.  It  became  known  as  the 
Mission  de  los  Dolores,  in  honor  of  the  sorrows 
of  Mary. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY. 

FROM    THE   PAINTINQ    BY   A.    F.    MATHEW8. 


575 


576  San  Francisco 

Hostile  tribes  from  the  south  had  lately  fallen 
upon  the  Indians  of  the  peninsula,  firing  their 
rancherias,  murdering  many  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  terrorizing  the  rest  into  flight.  So  the 
savages  proved  scarce  at  first.  Even  in  1802 
the  Indians  at  the  Mission  numbered  only  about 
eight  hundred.  But  these  natives,  like  all  the 
Calif ornian  Indians,  though  quite  docile,  proved 
stupid  and  brutish  and  lazy.  They  made  little 
progress  from  savagery  to  the  state  of  gentes 
de  razon,  or  "  reasonable  beings,"  fit  to  populate 
the  pueblos. 

This  mission  regime,  however  futile  it  may 
have  been,  however  formal  and  external  its 
religious  training,  seems  to  have  touched 
upon  some  of  the  educational  and  sociological 
thought  of  our  own  time.  It  made  use  of  the 
wisdom  Spain  had  learned  from  her  Roman 
conquerors — the  taking  of  the  conquered  into 
full  partnership.  The  idea  of  the  daily  contact 
of  superior  with  inferior ;  of  community  of 
property  and  co-operation  in  labor ;  of  the 
union  of  manual  work  with  mental  drill — all 
these  were  rudely  exemplified  in  the  mission 
life.  Sixty  years  was  the  span  of  the  experi- 
ment, a  brief  time  for  an  effort  in  civilization. 

The  Mission  Dolores  grew  after  the  general 


San  Francisco 


577 


plan  of  the  score  of  others  in  California.  It 
was  built  about  an  open  court,  the  place  for 
work  or  recreation.  The  chapel  stood  at  one 
end  of  the  rectangle  ;  the  living  rooms,  store- 
houses, and  shops  lined  the  other  sides.  Only 


MISSION  DOLORES.     BUILT  IN   1776. 


the  chapel,  thrice  restored,  with  its  campo 
santo  beside  it,  remains  of  the  Dolores  struc- 
ture. When  Beechy  visited  it  in  1829,  it  was 
already  a  crumbling  ruin.  The  sun-dried 
bricks,  here  as  at  the  other  unprotected  mis- 
sion relics,  are  fast  melting  back  into  the  earth. 
The  adobe,  like  the  swallow's  nest,  cannot 


57$  San  Francisco 

endure  the  hammers  and  chisels  of  wind  and 
rain  and  sun. 

Little  of  moment  occurred  at  Dolores  till 
the  days  of  secularization.  The  barren,  sand- 
driven,  wind-swept  hills  were  not  attractive  to 
the  Spanish,  and  the  Mission  was  not  in  high 
estimation  with  the  authorities.  Don  Pedro 
de  Aberini  wrote  of  it  in  1776  :  "  Of  all  sites 
in  California  this  Mission  is  situated  upon  the 
worst."  Nevertheless,  in  1825,  the  Mission, 
from  a  few  head  of  stock  and  a  few  sacks  of 
seed  brought  in  1776,  had  accumulated  76,000 
cattle,  79,000  sheep,  40,000  horses,  and  $60,000 
in  money  and  products. 

Mexico's  jealousy  of  the  sympathy  which 
the  padres  felt  for  Spain,  from  whom  Mexico 
had  torn  herself  in  1822  ;  the  clamoring  of 
settlers  for  the  lands  held  by  the  missions  ; 
quixotic  pleas  of  Mexican  statesmen  for  Ind- 
ian autocracy ;  and  perhaps,  under  all,  an 
itching  for  the  Pious  Fund  that  supported  the 
mission  work — these  led  on  to  the  seculariza- 
tion of  the  missions  in  1836.  The  Indian, 
civilized  only  surface-deep,  was  unready  for 
civilized  self-government ;  and  so  he  fell  back 
to  barbarism,  plus  dissipation — his  last  state 
worse  than  the  first. 


San  Francisco  579 

The  Dolores  Indians  were  especially  incom- 
petent, and  no  attempt  was  made  to  organize 
a  pueblo  for  them.  So  Dolores,  after  secu- 
larization, dragged  out  an  anomalous  exist- 
ence as  a  lapsed  mission,  carried  on  by  political 
rather  than  by  ecclesiastical  rule,  with  an  al- 
calde rather  than  a  padre  in  charge. 

In  1835  the  embarcadero  of  Yerba  Buena 
two  miles  from  the  Presidio,  was,  at  command 
of  Governor  Figueroa,  made  the  port  of  entry. 
This  place  (named  from  a  medicinal  weed 
growing  about  the  cove)  was  only  a  landing- 
place  for  fishermen  and  hide  droghers.  Only 
one  house  stood  here  at  this  time.  Not  a  sail 
shadowed  the  bay.  Herds  of  deer  came 
down  to  the  water  and  schools  of  seal  swam 
to  the  shore.  Yet  Yerba  Buena  afterward  ab- 
sorbed the  Mission  and  the  Presidio  on  the 
margin  of  Golden  Gate,  and  took  the  name  of 
the  Bay,  thus  becoming  the  germ  of  the  pres- 
ent city. 

A  knowledge  of  the  charm  and  worth  of 
the  sovereign  bay  queening  the  western  shore 
of  North  America  was  rapidly  travelling  the 
world.  In  1806,  the  Russian  Rezanof  had 
visited  it  officially.  His  coming  and  going 
has  a  romantic  interest,  as  his  betrothal  to 


580  San  Francisco 

Dona  Concepcion,  the  beautiful  daughter  of 
Argiiello,  commandant  of  the  Presidio,  his 
tragic  death  on  his  way  home,  and  her  retire- 
ment to  a  convent,  made  the  Evangeline  tale 
of  early  California.  England  in  1840  sent 
Belcher  to  the  bay  to  gather  information,  and 
France  sent  de  Mofras. 

Both  of  these  nations  were  suspected  of 
coveting  the  California  province ;  and  the 
hope  of  getting  possession  of  it,  especially  of 
San  Francisco  Bay,  was  doubtless  in  the  back- 
ground of  our  national  consciousness  as  one 
motive  of  the  Mexican  War.  It  was  felt  by 
our  country  that  the  United  States  must  own 
the  west  coast  or  be  pot-bound  later  on.  The 
Government  offered  to  buy  the  territory  from 
Mexico,  but  the  proposal  was  refused. 

Gradually  it  came  to  be  known  that  the 
United  States,  fearing  similar  action  by  Euro- 
pean powers,  was  to  seize  and  hold  California 
in  the  event  of  a  war  with  Mexico.  With  the 
vexed  question  of  motive  and  action  this  is 
not  the  place  to  deal.  But  in  1846,  after  the 
Mexican  War  had  fairly  started,  Fremont, 
pursuing  a  scientific  exploration  in  California, 
received  secret  Government  advices,  and,  gath- 
ering troops  in  the  North,  urged  a  declaration 


San  Francisco  581 

of  independence.  Commodore  Sloat,  in  com- 
mand of  a  frigate  at  Monterey,  in  July,  1846, 
raised  the  American  flag  in  place  of  the  Span- 
ish nopal  and  eagle  standard,  declaring  Cali- 
fornia a  part  of  the  United  States.  The  next 
day,  following  the  order  of  Sloat,  our  flag  was 
set  flying  in  the  plaza  at  Yerba  Buena  by  the 
captain  of  a  frigate  in  the  bay,  accompanied 
by  an  escort  of  soldiers  and  marines.  No  op- 
position was  offered  by  the  Mexicans.  Ports- 
mouth, the  name  of  the  vessel,  was  given  to 
the  plaza,  and  Montgomery,  the  name  of  the 
captain,  was  given  to  the  street,  then  along 
the  water  front,  but  now  pushed  back  a  half  a 
dozen  blocks  by  the  filling  in  of  the  cove. 

The  first  alcalde  of  Yerba  Buena  under  the 
American  flag  was  Washington  Bartlett. 
Hearing  that  a  new  town,  Francesca,  was  to 
be  established  farther  up  the  bay,  and  fearing 
injury  to  his  own  from  one  with  a  name  so 
similar  to  that  of  the  bay,  Alcalde  Bartlett 
proceeded,  in  1847,  to  cast  onC  tne  plebeian 
name  of  his  pueblo.  He  declared  the  name 
Yerba  Buena  insignificant  and  unknown  to 
the  world ;  proclaimed  that  henceforth  the 
settlement  should  bear  the  name  of  the  foster- 
ing bay  beside  it.  This  somewhat  tardy  edict 


582  San  Francisco 

was  accepted  by  all,  and  San  Francisco  be- 
came a  name  to  conjure  with. 

The  village  nucleated  a  little  back  of  the 
cove  about  its  inevitable  Spanish  plaza,  which 
was  to  be  the  scene  of  wild  and  whirling  days 
to  come.  Telegraph  Hill,  the  old  observa- 
tion station,  rose  on  the  north  of  it,  and 
Rincon  Hill  was  off  toward  the  south.  When 
California  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  in 
1848,  San  Francisco  was  fairly  afoot  upon  her 
triumphant  way.  Brannan  had  established  a 
newspaper,  The  Star,  and  had  sent  two  thou- 
sand copies  East,  describing  the  new  land,  and, 
curiously  enough,  prophesying  the  gold  and 
the  wheat  of  the  future — the  first  "boom" 
note  from  California.  A  school  was  flourish- 
ing ;  churches  were  building ;  two  hundred 
houses  were  on  the  hills,  and  the  population 
was  about  eight  hundred. 

And  now  sweeps  into  the  story  the  dom- 
inant major — the  finding  of  the  gold.  Told 
of  in  Indian  legend  and  in  Spanish  tradition, 
the  shining  sands  of  Pactolus  were  found  at 
last  in  a  Californian  cafton.  San  Franciscans, 
hearing  the  tale,  felt  again  the  wander  spirit, 
and  were  off  to  the  mountains,  seeking  quicker 
fortunes.  Soldiers  and  sailors  deserted  from 


San  Francisco  583 

the  bay.  The  school  closed  ;  the  newspaper 
suspended.  Business  was  at  a  standstill : 
there  was  no  one  to  work  or  to  buy. 

A  wind  of  excitement  passed  across  two 
hemispheres.  The  tidings  of  the  gold  flashed 
from  city  to  city,  swift  as  the  signal  fires  of 
Agamemnon  telling  that  Troy  had  fallen. 
The  faces  of  men  turned  expectantly  toward 
this  land  at  the  edge  of  the  world.  Every- 
where were  heard  the  sounds  of  preparation 
and  farewell,  as  adventurers  by  land  and  sea, 
by  craft  and  caravan,  set  out  for  El  Dorado. 

By  1849  immigrants  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth  were  pouring  in  ;  and  the  bare,  brown 
hills  and  curving  shores  of  San  Francisco 
were  whitening  with  tents.  Goods  were  piled 
high  in  the  open  air,  and  all  available  walls 
were  covered  with  grotesque  signs  and  pla- 
cards speaking  in  all  languages. 

By  the  winter  of  '49,  the  drowsy,  droning 
Spanish  town  had  expanded  into  a  little  ex- 
cited city.  Everywhere  were  springing  up 
nondescript  lodging  and  boarding  houses, 
drinking  houses,  and  gambling  saloons.  Twen- 
ty-five thousand  people  thronged  the  thorough- 
fares. There  was  scarcely  such  a  thing  as 
a  home.  Crowds  of  people  slept  wedged 


584  San  Francisco 

together  on  floors  and  tables,  in  rows  of  cots 
or  in  bunks  fastened  in  tiers  to  the  walls. 
The  streets,  full  of  sticky  clay  and  miry  sand, 
were  thronged  with  struggling  horses,  mules, 
and  oxen  ;  and  crowds  of  men  from  all  nations 
and  all  levels  of  life  jostled  by,  laughing, 
railing,  or  cursing.  A  whirlwind  had  rushed 
in  upon  the  sleepy  town.  Old  habits  of  life 
were  broken  through.  Lawyers  were  turned 
into  draymen  and  bootblacks ;  doctors  into 
merchants  and  carpenters ;  soldiers  into  wait- 
ers and  auctioneers.  All  men  could  find 
work ;  and  none,  however  rich,  could  wholly 
evade  it.  Gambling  was  the  chief  amuse- 
ment ;  speculation  in  a  hundred  forms  was 
pressing  forward,  and  fortunes  were  changing 
hourly. 

In  all  this  rude  democracy,  there  was  one 
mark  of  an  aristocracy — high  prices.  Work- 
men charged  twenty  dollars  a  day ;  lumber 
was  five  hundred  dollars  a  thousand ;  flour 
was  forty  dollars  a  barrel  ;  eggs  were  a  dollar 
apiece. 

All  unready  for  this  tumultuous  rise  in 
population  and  precipitation  of  business,  the 
infant  city  had  to  evolve  on  the  moment  ac- 
commodation for  man  and  beast  and  craft, 


San  Francisco  585 

and  organization  for  civic  safety.  To  add  to 
the  perplexities,  in  the  first  years  of  the  city, 
fire  after  fire  devoured  its  flimsy  fabric  of 
canvas  and  shingle.  The  fourth  and  worst 
fire,  in  May,  1851,  destroyed  seven  million 
dollars'  worth  of  property.  The  recurrent 
devastation  made  a  demand  for  fireproof 
buildings,  which  gave  a  certain  stability  and 
dignity  to  the  city.  The  bay  began  to  fill 
with  the  new  clipper  ships,  which  brought 
steadier  crews  and  more  rational  cargoes  than 
did  the  older  clumsy  ships  now  rotting  at  the 
docks.  Secure  wharfage,  passable  streets,  an 
efficient  fire-department  began  to  give  a  feeling 
of  prosperity  and  permanence. 

San  Francisco  was  the  stopping-place  of 
every  comer  and  goer ;  the  Egypt  of  the 
corn,  the  depot  of  supplies  for  the  gold 
territory.  Naturally,  forces  of  good  and  evil 
streamed  into  the  young  city  and  came  into 
collision.  Strange  new  conditions  were  in 
the  environment..  The  old  primitive  safe- 
guards of  the  early  mission  era  were  out- 
grown. The  population,  representing  every 
form  of  tradition  and  government,  found  itself 
removed  from  well-nigh  all  restraints,  all 
bolstering -up  of  church  and  state.  Each 


586  San  Francisco 

man  of  worth,  while  bent  to  his  private  task, 
had  forced  upon  him  the  problem  of  helping 
to  build  up  a  social  fabric  and  of  holding  it 
secure. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  has  an  elastic  genius  for 
government.  Wherever  he  goes,  finding  new 
conditions,  he  finds  new  ways  for  maintaining 
the  public  safety.  The  reaction  of  his  spirit 
under  the  conditions  about  him  in  early  Cali- 
fornia furnishes  an  interesting  study  in  social 
dynamics. 

By  1850,  California  was  running  under  a 
State  constitution  and  the  city  had  a  charter. 
The  old  stable  forces  of  home,  and  school, 
and  church,  the  Argonaut  soon  evolved  about 
him.  However,  great  freedom  of  action 
and  opinion  prevailed,  and  a  tolerance  of 
evil  that  well-nigh  blunted  the  distinctions 
between  right  and  wrong.  "  Sydney  coves," 
and  other  unruly  spirits  took  advantage  of  this 
laxity.  Abuses  thickened,  and  anxious  prob- 
lems of  public  order  were  upon  the  young 
metropolis. 

The  affair  of  "The  Hounds"  was  one  of 
the  organized  outrages  that  confronted  the 
municipality.  A  band  of  lawless  ex-convicts, 
affiliated  for  mutual  protection  in  evil  designs, 


San  Francisco  587 

grew  very  obnoxious  in  their  bold  defiance 
of  authority,  their  open  and  wanton  outrages 
upon  citizens,  especially  foreigners.  The 
community,  having  no  municipal  organiza- 
tion, rose  against  the  law-breakers,  put  twenty 
on  trial,  and  half  of  these  into  prison.  This 
show  of  public  indignation  quieted  the  pack 
for  a  time.  But  there  was  no  strong  authority 
to  conserve  the  public  good.  What  was  the 
concern  of  all  found  an  executive  in  none. 

Yet,  finally,  out  of  this  sagging  and  sinking 
of  the  public  order  and  its  adjustment  sprang 
the  most  spectacular  popular  uprising  and  the 
most  notable  object-lesson  in  self-government 
known  to  the  West  or  perhaps  to  any  other 
land, — the  Vigilance  Committee  of  1852-56. 
The  occasion  of  this  citizens'  uprising  was 
a  series  of  unpunished  crimes  of  arson,  mur- 
der, rapine,  and  burglary.  The  perpetrators 
of  these  outrages,  owing  to  lax  administration 
of  law  by  corrupt  or  careless  officials,  seemed 
immune  from  apprehension  or  punishment. 
The  many  fires  that  had  devastated  the 
infant  city  had  without  doubt  been  of  incen- 
diary origin.  Over  a  hundred  murders  had 
occurred  in  a  few  months  and  not  a  single 
capital  punishment  had  followed. 


588  San  Francisco 

Feeling  that  this  insecurity  of  life  and 
property  was  intolerable,  and  fearing  that 
it  would  draw  down  the  perils  and  uncertain- 
ties of  mob  law,  a  party  of  prominent  citizens, 
all  above  suspicion  of  self-interest,  organized 


SEAL  OF  THE  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE. 

a  defensive  league  against  the  allied  rabble. 
They  determined  to  take  the  law  into  their 
own  hands,  and  to  administer  it  with  equal 
and  exact  justice,  with  swiftness  and  finality. 

The  first  and  most  exciting  case  handled 
by  this  extraordinary  court  of  justice  came 
swiftly  to  judgment.  Upon  the  night  of 
organization,  in  June,  1852,  an  ex-convict  was 


San  Francisco  589 

seized  in  an  act  of  theft.  He  was  tried  in  the 
presence  of  eighty  members  sitting  with  closed 
doors ;  was  convicted,  sentenced,  and  hanged 
in  Portsmouth  Square  that  night.  The  general 
public,  sensitive  and  suspicious,  dreading  mob 
tactics,  was  troubled  at  first  by  this  summary 
show  of  power.  But  the  Committee  came  out 
with  a  complete  list  of  its  members,  each 
member  assuming  equal  share  of  responsi- 
bility, each  avowing  the  public  welfare  as  the 
only  end  in  view,  each  pledging  his  life,  his 
fortune,  his  honor,  for  the  protection  of  his 
city  and  the  upholding  of  the  public  safety. 
A  profound  impression  was  made  by  the 
manifesto  of  this  self-constituted  protectorate. 
When  it  was  found  that  no  secret  society,  but, 
instead,  a  band  of  the  solid  men  of  the  city 
was  at  the  head  of  the  movement,  the  com- 
munity rallied  to  its  support  with  enthusiasm. 
The  Committee  quietly  kept  at  its  work  of 
investigation  and  punishment.  Its  calm,  swift 
justice,  its  lack  of  personal  bias,  its  right- 
eous vengeance  terrified  evil-doers.  Many  were 
banished  by  formal  warning.  Three  other 
well-known  criminals  were  hanged.  Crime 
rapidly  diminished,  and  for  the  first  time  in 
years  people  began  to  feel  secure  in  person 


59°  San  Francisco 

and  possessions.  After  thirty  days  the  occu- 
pation of  the  Vigilance  Committee  was  gone. 
It  did  not  disband,  but  existed  for  years  a 
merely  nominal  tribunal. 

By  1854,  the  growth  of  San  Francisco 
began  to  slacken.  Inflation  began  its  inevita- 
ble counter-movement  of  collapse.  The  days 
of  picking  up  gold  were  over.  Immigration 
fell  off.  A  large  part  of  the  city's  population 
scattered,  returning  East,  or  going  into  the 
country  to  try  life  on  ranch  or  range.  Dis- 
order increased ;  the  old  suppressed  crimes 
leaped  into  evil  eminence. 

A  new  journal,  The  Bulletin,  edited  by 
James  King,  of  William,  assailed  the  rising 
corruption,  political  and  personal,  social  and 
individual,  public  and  private. 

In  1856,  without  warning,  King  was  shot 
down  in  the  street  by  a  man  who  had  writhed 
under  the  torment  of  the  Bulletin  pens, — an 
unscrupulous  ex-convict,  James  Casey,  a  rival 
editor,  and  a  man  lately  elected  supervisor. 
This  murder  precipitated  public  opinion,  and 
exploded  the  lazy  optimism  that  had  waited  for 
things  to  right  themselves.  Casey  was  at  once 
jailed,  by  chance  escaping  lynching.  It  was 
inevitable  that  heroic  measures  should  be  set 


San  Francisco  591 

in  operation.  And  so  there  came  about  a  sec- 
ond administration  of  the  Vigilance  Commit- 
tee, this  unique  social  providence,  this  people's 
protectorate.  But  this  time  it  had  before  it 
not  only  the  purging  of  the  city's  crime,  but 
also  a  struggle  with  jealous  and  sluggish  au- 
thority vested  in  city  and  State  officials. 
In  a  few  days  2500  men  had  enrolled  as 
Vigilantes,  and  were  drilling  in  arms,  under 
their  former  trusted  President,  William  T. 
Coleman.  Meantime  the  Governor  of  the 
State  was  summoned  by  the  Anti-Vigilantes, 
representing  chiefly  the  conservative  office- 
holders and  the  people  affiliated  in  some  way 
with  the  lawless  element.  These  Anti-Vigi- 
lantes came  to  be  known  in  derision  as  the 
Law-and-Order  Party.  The  Know-Nothing 
Governor  swayed  first  from  one  side  to  an- 
other. He  had  no  power  behind  him,  for  the 
militia  were  deserting  to  the  popular  cause. 
The  Vigilantes  took  charge  not  only  of  Casey, 
but  also  of  one  Cora  who  had  wantonly  shot 
a  United  States  marshal  and  had  evaded  pun- 
ishment. After  a  dispassionate  trial,  with  all 
form  and  ceremony,  the  two  criminals  were 
sentenced  to  death  and  hanged  on  the  day 
of  King's  funeral.  It  may  be  worth  remember- 


59 2  San  Francisco 

ing  that  this  man  Cora  was  defended  in  his 
first  trial  by  the  eloquent  Col.  E.  D.  Baker. 

The  Law-and-Order  Party  now  insisted  that 
the  Vigilantes  disband.  But  the  Committee 
held  that  its  purpose  was  not  simply  to  deal 
out  justice  to  murderers,  but  also  to  so  clarify 
the  social  atmosphere  as  to  make  future  assas- 
sinations punishable  by  law.  Therefore  it 
struck  directly  at  city  politics,  banishing  the 
openly  vicious,  and  laying  the  way  for  a  clean 
administration  when  the  corrupt  officials  could 
be  rotated  out  of  office. 

This  Vigilance  Committee  drew  a  large  fol- 
lowing of  citizens  ;  but  there  was  a  continuous 
undercurrent  of  opposition.  General  Sher- 
man, commander  of  the  second  division  of  the 
State  militia,  backed  by  the  vacillating  Gov- 
ernor and  representing  constitutional  author- 
ity, was  the  leader  of  the  opposition  sentiment. 
In  June,  the  Law-and-Order  Party  under  him 
determined  to  rise  against  the  Vigilantes.  He 
appealed  to  General  Wool,  United  States 
Commander  in  the  Department,  for  arms,  and 
also  to  Commodore  Farragut  at  Mare  Island. 
These  commanders  declined  to  interfere  in 
State  troubles  without  orders  from  the  Gov- 
ernment. Governor  Johnson  declared  the 


San  Francisco  593 

city  and  county  of  San  Francisco  in  a  state  of 
insurrection,  and  asked  aid  from  Washington. 
General  Sherman,  finding  himself  powerless, 
resigned.  Chief-Justice  Terry,  an  active  op- 
ponent of  the  Committee,  having  come  from 
Sacramento  to  enforce  the  law,  now  compli- 
cated matters  by  stabbing  an  officer  of  the 
Vigilantes.  The  Committee  held  him  a  pris- 
oner but  set  him  free  when  his  victim  recov- 
ered. After  three  months  of  life,  after  hanging 
in  all  four  criminals,  well-known  desperadoes, 
banishing  many  others,  and  paving  the  way  for 
a  purer  administration  of  law,  the  Committee 
disbanded,  leaving  a  small  body  to  settle  its 
affairs.  The  next  election  saw  a  full  set  of 
honest  officials  in  power,  and  for  twenty  years 
San  Francisco  had  the  name  of  being  one 
of  the  best-governed  cities  in  the  world. 

Looking  back  dispassionately,  it  appears 
that  the  Vigilance  Committee  had  something 
of  the  dignity  and  purpose  and  procedure  of 
the  ancient  court  of  the  Areopagus.  It  was 
not  like  the  extemporized  Sanhedrim  that  tried 
Christ,  a  body  which  kept  the  appearance  of 
justice  but  mocked  the  reality.  It  was  not  a 
masked  band  of  regulators  like  the  Ku  Klux 
or  the  White  Caps  ;  but  it  was  an  irresistible 


594  San  Francisco 

rising  of  the  best  citizens  in  calm  debate,  in 
open  daylight,  with  sobriety  and  decorum  and 
every  safeguard  of  justice.  Unlike  the  anti- 
Mafia  of  New  Orleans,  it  put  down  the  mob 
spirit,  but  did  not  engender  it.  Though  acting 
outside  of  the  constituted  authorities,  it  had 
the  severest  reverence  for  law  in  the  ideal.  As 
President  Coleman  expressed  it,  the  Commit- 
tee did  not  act  under  lynch  law,  but  under  a 
sort  of  martial  law  that  obtains  in  time  of 
siege.  Considering  the  daring  wantonness  of 
crime,  the  subsidized  or  terrorized  condition 
of  the  courts  of  justice,  and  the  immunity  of 
criminals,  law-abiding  citizens  seem  to  have 
been  justified  in  reverting  to  the  elemental  or- 
der of  things,  as  is  the  man  who  attacks  the 
thief  in  the  night.  But,  of  course,  loyalty  from 
the  first  to  public  interests  instead  of  easy 
optimism  and  self-absorption,  would  have  held 
back  the  occasion  for  the  heroic  measures  of 
the  historic  Committee.  Men  never  learn, 
save  through  suffering,  that  the  support  of  the 
common  welfare  is  a  sacred  duty,  and  that 
this  duty  squares  exactly  with  their  highest 
private  interests. 

During  all  these  years  and  long  after,  San 
Francisco  suffered  greatly  from  disputed  land 


San  Francisco  595 

titles.  Conflicting  claims  led  to  labyrinthine 
legislation,  and  increasing  hardship,  one  crisis 
being  the  Squatter  Riots. 

The  treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo  had  de- 
creed that  all  property  rights  should  be  re- 
spected by  the  new  government.  So  property 
rights  founded  on  cloudy  and  ill-understood 
laws  and  customs  of  Spain  and  Mexico  had 
now  to  be  adjudicated  in  the  Californian  courts. 
San  Francisco  was  entangled  in  the  mazes  of 
two  rival  Spanish  claims,  embracing  well-nigh 
all  her  territory  except  the  "  made "  land. 
There  was  much  dispute  as  to  whether  or  not 
the  city  had  ever  been  made  a  pueblo  proper. 
On  this  depended  the  holding  or  forfeiting  of 
four  square  leagues  of  land.  Though  the  city 
petitioned  the  Land  Commission  in  1852  for 
confirmation  of  her  public  grants,  the  contro- 
versy was  pending  through  wearying  legisla- 
tion, with  repeated  surveys  and  delays  and 
continual  jeopardy  of  property,  until  finally 
settled  by  the  decision  of  Secretary  Lamar  in 
1887. 

The  decline  of  the  gold  output  brought  to 
the  front  the  agricultural  resources  of  the 
State,  and  San  Francisco  came  to  be  the  cen- 
tre of  distribution  for  wheat,  wines,  and  fruits. 


596  San  Francisco 

The  Central  Pacific  Railroad  was  completed 
in  1867,  with  San  Francisco  as  the  Western 
terminus,  and  as  by  a  magic  stroke  the  city  was 
only  three  thousand  miles  instead  of  nineteen 
thousand  miles  from  Eastern  markets.  Since 
then  three  other  transcontinental  lines  and 
numerous  local  lines  have  brought  trade  and 
travel  into  this  emporium  of  the  Pacific,  while 
the  ships  of  all  nations  fetch  and  carry  through 
her  Golden  Gate. 

The  war  of  secession  found  California 
wavering  between  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and 
the  Stars  and  Bars.  A  large  Southern  ele- 
ment, much  to  the  front  in  politics,  had  main- 
tained a  strong  Democratic  influence  in  the 
State.  The  celebrated  duel,  just  outside  the 
city  limits  between  Broderick  and  Terry— 
the  Terry  of  Vigilance  Committee  memory- 
turned  the  tide  toward  Republicanism  and 
sympathy  for  the  North.  The  duel  grew  out 
of  the  Broderick  and  Gwin  senatorial  contest. 
Terry  stood  for  Southern  chivalry  ;  Broderick 
stood  for  free  labor  and  progressive  politics. 
Not  essentially  great  or  noble,  Broderick 
was  made  heroic  by  his  tragic  death.  During 
war  times  he  was  a  colossal  figure  in  men's 
minds,  and  his  anti-slavery  sentiments  echoed 


San  Francisco 


597 


through  city  and  State,  a  slogan  and  a  cleav- 
ing sword  for  freedom  and  the  North. 

In  the  '70*5  there  sprang  up  in  San  Fran- 
cisco a  tremendous  excitement  over  the  silver 
mines  on  the  Comstock  Lode.  The  bonanza 


UNION  DEPOT. 


was  estimated  to  be  worth  over  fifteen  hun- 
dred millions  of  dollars.  True,  this  ardent 

o 

field  was  across  the  Sierras,  in  the  State  of 
Nevada.  But  most  of  the  output  found  its 
way  to  San  Francisco.  The  principal  owners 
lived  there,  and  San  Francisco  was  the  depot 


598  San  Francisco 

for  Comstock  supplies.  The  Stock  Board 
operated  there,  and  stocks  bought  for  less 
than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  soared 
up  to  two  hundred  million.  At  the  highest 
notch  of  prices  the  manipulators  sold  out, 
and  the  airy  fabric  of  speculation  fell  with  a 
crash.  The  banks  had  been  emptied  by  spec- 
ulators eager  to  buy  stocks,  and  were  greatly 
embarrassed.  Myriads  were  swept  into  pov- 
erty, leaving  immense  fortunes  in  the  hands 
of  a  few. 

Soon  after  the  Comstock  collapse  the  Sand 
Lot  agitation  sprang  into  life.  Over  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  millions  of  dollars  had  been 
removed  from  circulation  by  the  Comstock 
jugglery.  The  wealth  of  the  outside  world 
was  temporarily  diverted  from  the  San  Fran- 
cisco markets.  A  great  drought  had  been  on 
the  State  during  two  years  and  the  lean  kine 
had  devoured  the  fat.  Harvests  were  sparse 
or  wholly  lacking.  Cattle  perished  beside  the 
dry  water-courses.  A  large  body  of  the  out- 
side unemployed  had  come  to  swell  the  tide 
of  the  city's  drifting,  workless  ones.  The 
railroad  was  threatening  a  reduction  of  wages 
to  its  thousands  of  men.  Riots  were  on  in 
Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  Baltimore,  and  had 


CHINESE  PHARMACY. 


599 


6oo  San  Francisco 

sent  contagion  on  the  enforced  idlers  in  San 
Francisco.  Feeling  long  smouldering  broke 
into  fire  against  the  Chinese  and  the  railroad, 
two  factors  believed  by  the  working-men  to  be 
largely  instrumental  in  cheapening  wages  and 
robbing  men  of  work.  A  mob  gathered,  threat- 
ening to  rout  out  the  Asiatics.  The  police 
could  not  disperse  the  rioters. 

On  July  24th  there  came  a  third  call  for  the 
Vigilance  Committee  to  assemble,  which  many 
thought  an  unnecessary  and  high-handed  sum- 
mons. William  T.  Coleman  was  for  a  third 
time  given  charge.  The  Committee  was  to 
proceed  upon  lines  followed  in  the  '50*5.  But 
this  time  they  were  to  co-operate  with  the 
authorities  rather  than  to  work  in  opposition. 
On  July  25th,  the  mob,  infuriated  by  the 
menace  of  the  Committee  and  looking  on  it 
as  a  mere  support  of  capitalistic  interests, 
gathered  about  the  Pacific  Mail  Dock,  where 
immigrant  Chinese  were  landed.  The  Com- 
mittee, armed  with  pick-handles,  met  the  labor 
mob  at  the  dock  and  a  few  men  were  killed. 
This  ended  the  uprising.  But  the  issue  was 
soon  thrust  into  politics.  The  anti-Chinese 
believers  gathered  upon  the  sand  lots  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  City  Hall  and  organized 


San  Francisco  60 1 

the  Working-man's  Party.  It  spread  through- 
out the  State.  Dennis  Kearny,  an  illiterate 
but  rudely  eloquent  speaker,  became  the  leader, 
the  Wat  Tyler  of  the  hour.  The  movement 
ended  in  the  adoption  by  the  State  of  a  new 
Constitution  framed  along  progressive  lines. 

The  people  of  San  Francisco  are  of  all  kin- 
dreds and  tongues.  Buddha,  Mahomet,  and 
Confucius  are  prayed  to  beside  the  Christian 
temples.  The  Indians  of  the  Mission  have 
faded  from  the  peninsula  and  the  sombreroed 
Spaniard  dashes  no  more  from  the  Mission  to 
the  beach  about  his  bull-fights  and  bear-bait- 
ings. But  here  are  Anglo-Saxons,  Teutons, 
Celts,  Greeks,  Slavs,  Latins,  Hindus,  Chinese, 
Kanakas,  Japanese,  and  Chilenos,  all  mixing 
in  the  great  crucible  and  slowly  shaping  a 
new  type  of  man,  the  Western  American. 
All  seem  to  be  mixing,  it  should  be  explained, 
except  the  Chinese,  for,  after  a  quarter  of 
a  century  of  experience,  San  Francisco  feels 
that  her  Chinese  population  is  still  an  alien 
body  and  sure  to  remain  so  even  to  the  third 
and  fourth  generation. 

The  problem  of  Chinese  immigration  has 
come  up  again  and  again  in  San  Francisco. 
In  1869  the  Chinese  were  invited  and  welcomed 


602  San  Francisco 

from  China.  In  1892,  the  Geary  law  was 
passed  prohibiting  the  coming  of  any  but  the 
student  class  and  providing  for  deportation 
under  certain  conditions.  A  generation  grew 
up  between  this  hail  and  farewell,  China  in 
the  meantime  pouring  her  tens  of  thousands  of 
coolies  into  San  Francisco.  California  wel- 
comes any  race  that  affiliates.  But  she  has 
found  that  the  Chinese  race  is  not  as  the 
impressionable  Indian  or  negro ;  but  is  an  ar- 
rested race  in  the  yoke  of  caste  and  ancient 
tradition,  one  looking  with  contempt  upon 
upstart  Anglo-Saxon  civilization.  The  Chi- 
nese swarmed  into  a  quarter  of  the  city  about 
Portsmouth  Square,  and  have  made  there  a 
small,  evil-smelling  Canton,  where  only  a 
foreign  tongue  is  spoken,  and  where  strange 
gods  are  worshipped.  Few  have  brought 
wives.  Slave  girls  are  the  only  women.  Ev- 
ery Chinese  prays  to  die  in  China,  or  to  have 
his  bones  rot  there.  American  law  to  most 
of  them  is  but  a  pestilent  thing  to  be  evaded. 
They  have  no  interest  in  the  growth  of  the 
country  or  its  institutions.  They  work  for 
starvation  wages,  their  living  being  extremely 
cheap,  requiring  only  tea  and  rice  and  a  bare 
shelf  to  sleep  upon  in  a  room  crowded  with  such 


San  Francisco 


603 


shelves.  Being  imitative,  and  as  patient  as  cat- 
tle, and  withal  so  cheap  as  hirelings,  they  have 
taken  the  places  of  women  in  the  household 
and  factory  and  the  places  of  men  and  boys 


CHINESE  GROCERY  STORE. 


in  the  work  of  dock  and  shop  and  field.  The 
assertion  that  this  labor  liberates  the  whites 
for  higher  work  does  not  seem  to  be  verified. 
Many  trace  the  vicious  "  hoodlum "  class  of 
both  sexes  to  the  enforced  idleness  of  these 
young  people,  springing  from  the  iron  com- 
petition of  the  Chinese  in  the  labor  market. 


604 


San  Francisco 


Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  little  slant- 
eyed  men  with  their  grotesque  superstitions, 
their  stfiff,  stark,  unhomelike  homes,  add  a 
quaintness  and  a  touch  of  color  to  this  ro- 
mantic city.  Gay  placards  of  intense  greens 


SMOKING  ROOM,  CHINESE  RESTAURANT. 

and  vermilions  flutter  from  their  doorposts. 
Under  the  dull  outer  tunics  of  the  elders 
gleam  surtouts  of  gay  brocades,  while  the  few 
children,  little  faithful  copies  of  their  sires, 
all  tricked  out  like  the  lanterns  of  the  night, 
go  toddling  on  tiny,  rocking  shoes  through  the 


A  BUSINESS  CENTRE. 


605 


606  San  Francisco 

narrow,  dingy  streets.  The  Chinese  theatres, 
temples,  and  restaurants  are  full  of  the  Oriental 
strangeness.  The  interiors  of  some  of  them 
are  lacquered  and  varnished  like  huge  tea- 
boxes. 

As  one  gets  a  strip  of  Cathay  in  China- 
town, so  he  may  find  a  corner  of  Italy  on  the 
south  slopes  of  Telegraph  Hill.  Here  chil- 
dren, looking  like  the  cherubs  of  their  kinsmen, 
the  old  masters,  swarm  through  steep  narrow 
streets,  upon  curious  little  balconies,  out  of 
odd  windows,  or  upon  the  steps  of  chapels. 

The  architecture  of  San  Francisco  is  a 
medley  of  many  schools.  The  buildings, 
especially  the  homes,  are  largely  of  wood  ; 
the  recurring  feature  is  the  bay  window 
that  focuses  the  light  and  heat.  To  the 
newcomer  they  all  seem  of  the  same  color, 
for  the  fogs  and  winds  soon  reduce  all  hues 
to  a  fine,  restful  gray.  In  the  beginning,  by 
a  curious  irony,  stone  and  lumber  were  shipped 
from  the  East  and  from  Asia  to  this  land 
of  forests  and  granite  to  build  some  of  the 
structures  still  holding  their  places  against 
the  pressure  of  time.  In  the  newer  buildings 
of  the  city  there  is  some  attempt  to  make 
the  architecture  express  the  function  of  the 


San  Francisco  607 

structure — the  stability  of  the  business  house, 
the  aspiration  of  the  church,  the  simple 
security  of  the  home.  The  new  City  Hall 
is  an  example  of  permanence  and  chaste  ele- 
gance. The  old  mission  architecture  is  being 
revived.  This  Spanish-Moorish  adaptation  is 
the  most  characteristic  and  harmonious  de- 
velopment of  Californian  architecture.  Built 
of  the  earth,  the  old  mission  piles  seem  almost 
as  if  not  made  by  man,  but  nature.  For  they 
repeat  in  long  stretches  and  low  swells  the 
contour  of  the  hills  about  them,  and  give  back 
their  color-tones  of  dun  and  tan  and  rusty 
red. 

The  year  the  new  and  greater  name  was 
given  to  the  city,  a  misfortune  fell  upon  the 
streets.  Regardless  of  cliff  and  curve,  ignor- 
ing height  and  hollow,  the  streets  were  laid 
out  in  undeviating  straight  lines.  And  so  a 
city  on  fairer  than  Roman  hills,  with  circling 
waterways  more  lovely  than  the  curve  of 
Constantinople's  Golden  Horn,  was  deformed 
as  far  as  its  high  bearing  could  be  hurt ;  was 
checkered  by  pitiless  compass  lines,  when  it 
might  have  had  windings  and  slow  curves  and 
gentle  slopes. 

Market,  the  main  street,  runs  lengthwise  of 


6o8 


San  Francisco 


the  peninsula.  Its  intersection  with  Kearny  is 
a  nerve-centre  of  the  city,  whence  radiate  three 
great  streets.  Near  this  spot  are  the  main 
newspaper  buildings  and  most  of  the  large  ho- 
tels. San  Fran- 
cisco's streets, 
unlike  those  of 
Sacramento  and 
Los  Angeles,  are 
not  lined  with 
trees.  But  nearly 
every  dooryard 
has  its  green 
place  where  tall 
geraniums,  ca- 
melias,  helio- 
tropes, or  fuch- 
ias  fling  out,  the 
year  round, 
their  splashes 
of  scarlet  and 
purple. 

The  city  boasts  of  one  great  park  of  a 
thousand  acres,  on  the  hills  and  ravines  out 
by  the  sea.  Central,  Prospect,  and  Fairmount 
parks  of  the  East  fail  beside  the  charm  of  this 
Arcadian  Western  park,  probably  the  finest 


PRAYER  BOOK  CROSS,  GOLDEN  GATE  PARK. 


San  Francisco 


609 


in  North  America.  The  trees  of  the  world, 
from  conifer  to  cactus,  are  here,  and  every 
flower  that  blooms.  Beyond  the  park  is  the 
Cliff  House,  overhanging  huge  rocks,  the  ren- 
dezvous of  gulls  and  seals  and  shy  things  of 
the  water. 


SEAL  ROCK  AND  CLIFF  HOUSE. 

The  old  Portsmouth  Square  is  dingy  and 
draggled.  It  looks  upon  the  scene  of  the  exe- 
cutions of  the  Vigilantes  and  is  full  of  mem- 
ories for  the  chronicler.  Its  great  charm 
now  is  the  statue  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson, 
who  when  in  San  Francisco,  often  sat  there, 


6 io  San  Francisco 

studying  the  quaint,  broken  life  about  him. 
Another  significant  monument,  poetic  and  his- 
toric presented  to  the  city  by  Mayor  James 
D.  Phelan,  stands  before  the  new  City  Hall 
in  honor  of  the  Native  Son  of  the  Golden 
West. 

It  is  doubtless  only  a  question  of  time  when 
expanding  San  Francisco  will  absorb  the  cities 
an  hour's  ride  across  the  Bay, —  Oakland,  Ber- 
keley, and  Alameda, — the  homes  now  of  many 
of  San  Francisco's  business  men. 

The  University  of  California  at  Berkeley 
draws  its  largest  clientele  from  San  Francisco. 
By  the  benefactions  of  the  widow  of  Senator 
Hearst  of  San  Francisco,  this  university  has 
under  way  a  housing  perhaps  the  most  spa- 
cious and  symmetrical  in  the  world.  The 
structure,  to  cost  nearly  five  million  dollars, 
follows  a  plan  chosen  by  experts  from  designs 
submitted  after  a  world  competition,  and  will 
crown  a  long  hill  slope,  looking  down  on  San 
Francisco  City  and  Bay  and  out  toward  sleep- 
ing Asia.  The  allied  professional  colleges  of 
the  University  are  already  in  San  Francisco. 
Its  art  department  is  in  the  fine  old  mansion 
of  Hopkins,  the  railroad  builder,  on  California 
Street,  the  home  street  of  millionaires.  A 


6l2 


San  Francisco 


school  of  mechanic  arts,  endowed  by  the  pio- 
neer, James  Lick,  who  gave  the  great  astro- 
nomical observatory  to  the  State  University,  is 
also  under  way  in  San  Francisco. 

Another  uni- 
versity drawing 
its  student  body 
largely  from  San 
Francisco  is  an 
hour  or  more 
down  the  penin- 
sula from  the 
city, —  the  Le- 
1  a  n  d  Stanford, 
Jr.,  founded  by 
Jane  and  Leland 
S  ta  n  f  ord  and 
wife,  of  San 
Francisco.  This 
university,  by 
the  way,  is  built, 
after  the  old 
mission  plan  of  one-story  buildings,  about  an 
inner  court,  with  arcades  and  Roman  towers 
and  tiled  roof. 

The  city  has  three  great  working  libraries, 
the  Public,  the  Mercantile,  and  the  Mechanics' 


LELAND  STANFORD. 


San  Francisco 


613 


Institute.  Adolph  Sutro,  the  late  owner  of 
about  one  tenth  of  the  territory  of  San  Fran- 
cisco City  and  County,  whose  fine  grounds  out 
by  the  Cliff  House  have  long  been  open  to 
the  public,  left  a  unique  collection  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  pamphlets  and  volumes  of  rare 
worth,  gathered 
for  the  public  use. 
The  Bancroft  Li- 
brary is  phenome- 
nal in  that  it  has 
cornered  all  the 
original  material 
for  the  history  of 
the  far  West. 
Those  myriads  of 
manuscripts,  pam- 
phlets, and  books 
have  been  indexed 
by  experts  and  the 
library  is  a  sort  of  Vatican  for  California. 

The  Bohemian  Club  of  San  Francisco,  a 
comradery  of  litterateurs,  artists,  and  lovers  of 
the  arts,  is  a  unique  expression  of  the  aesthetic 
individuality  of  the  city,  and  is  one  of  its 
strong  social  forces. 

San  Francisco  has  perhaps  no  famous  name 


THOMAS  STARR  KING. 


6 14  San  Francisco 

that  dominates  the  city  as  Franklin  dominates 
Philadelphia  ;  as  Beecher,  Brooklyn  ;  as  Car- 
negie, Pittsburg.  But  if  great-hearted  Thomas 
Starr  King  had  lived  longer,  he  might  have 
been  its  crowning  personality  as  he  is  now  its 
most  sainted  memory.  His  inflexible  loyalty 
and  impassioned  eloquence  made  him  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  a  commanding 
figure,  if  not  the  leading  citizen  of  California. 

Though  only  fifty  years  old,  San  Francisco 
has  given  to  literature  and  art  a  few  names 
that  the  world  will  not  willingly  let  die.  For 
forty  years  Joaquin  Miller,  the  "  Poet  of  the 
Sierras,"  has  been  a  friend  and  neighbor  of  her 
hills  and  waters,  telling  in  noble  numbers  the 
glories  and  the  terrors  of  the  strange  new  land 
"  by  the  sun-down  seas."  Here  Bret  Harte 
founded  the  Overland  Monthly  and  with  "  The 
Luck  of  Roaring  Camp"  began  his  creation  of 
Californian  characters.  What  matters  it  if 
they  never  existed  outside  of  his  pages, — those 
drinking,  dirking  dare-devils,  those  tenor- 
voiced,  soulful-eyed  gamblers,  striking  sorrow 
to  the  hearts  of  ladies  ?  For,  touched  by  his 
genius,  they  exist  for  us  there,  in  perennial 
charm  and  invitation. 

Here,   too,  Henry    George   wrote  his  Pro- 


San  Francisco 


615 


gress  and  Poverty,  a  book  that  was  a  prophet- 
cry  heard  round  the  world,  declaring  that 
every  man  has  a  right  to  a  foothold  on  the 
earth.  Mark  Twain,  Ambrose  Bierce,  Charles 
Warren  Stod- 
dard,  John 
Vance  Cheney, 
Charlotte  Per- 
kin  Oilman, 
Kate  Douglas 
Wiggin,  and 
Gertrude  Ath- 
erton  did  here 
a  deal  of  their 
early  literary 
work,1  but  now 
have  wandered 
away  into  the 
world,  leaving 
behind  them, 
however,  a 
goodly  group 

of    critics,  story-writers,  and  poets  ;  painters, 
also,   William  Keith  and  the  rest,  who  have 

1  The  reader  will  yet  more  vividly  recall  that  The  Man  -with  the 
Hoe  came  out  of  San  Francisco  and  will  heartily  approve  the  editor's 
selection  of  Mr.  Markham  to  contribute  this  chapter  to  the  volume. 

EDITOR. 


HENRY  GEORGE. 


6i6 


San  Francisco 


caught    into   splendid    captivity  some    of  the 
immensities  and  radiances  about  them. 

This  is  but  an  abstract  and  brief  chronicle 
of  the  great  city  at  the  Western  gate  of  the 
world.  There  she  sits,  the  ultimate  outpost  of 
the  passion  of  progress.  Sleepless  unrest,  for- 
ever urging  the  peoples  westward,  land  by 
land,  now,  at  the  end  of  centuries,  begins 
to  surge  and  thunder  on  the  shores  of  Balboa's 
Sea.  But  this  end  is  only  a  beginning  —  this 
great  city  is  only  the  first  of  a  chain  of  cities 
fated,  under  the  star  of  empire,  to  spring 
into  life  on  these  circling  shores,  making  the 
Pacific  at  last  the  greater  Mediterranean  of 
mankind. 


MONTEREY 
CIUDAD  DE  AVER  Y  DE  HOY 

BY  HAROLD  BOLCE 

TO  know  the  story  of  Monterey,  one  must  go 
back  for  a  moment  to  the  southern  coast 
of  Europe.  There,  on  an  island  a  day's  sail  from 
the  land  that  later  cradled  a  prodigy  destined  to 
make  dynasties  his  playthings,  there  was  born, 
in  1713,  a  boy  who  by  pacific  conquests  was  to 
perform  a  part  no  less  significant  than  Napo- 
leon's in  determining  the  history  of  nations. 

While  the  infant  Bonaparte  was  listening, 
perhaps  impatiently,  to  Corsican  lullabies, 
Junipero  Serra,  a  mendicant  friar  from  Ma- 
jorca, discovered,  or  rediscovered,  on  the  far 
shores  of  this  continent  the  supposedly  van- 
ished harbor  of  Monterey,  and  thereby  marked 
the  genesis  of  the  movement  that  was  finally 
to  give  the  American  republic  a  western 
frontage  on  the  sea. 

617 


6i8 


Monterey 


But  for  this  auspicious  event  and  the  stimu- 
lating effect  on  Spanish  exploration  it  after- 
wards provoked,  the  great  domain  from  San 
Diego  to  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  would 

not  to-day  be 
rendering  trib- 
ute to  the 
Government  at 
Washington. 
The  western 
lines  of  the 
Louisiana  Pur- 
chase would 
mark  our  far- 
thermost fron- 
tier;  the  in- 
credible hoard 
of  California's 


JUNfPERO  SERRA,  FOUNDER  OF  MONTEREY. 


roaring  camps 
would  be  mint- 
ed into  sover- 
eigns, shillings,  rubles*  imperials,  or  francs ; 
no  Pacific  Squadron  would  have  carried  our 
flag  to  the  gates  of  the  East ;  and  we  would 
to-day  be  a  hemmed-in  nation,  disputing  our 
land  boundaries  with  encroaching  colonies  of 
Europe,  instead  of  a  world  power  projecting 


Monterey  619 

canals  to  sever  continents  in  the  interest  of  our 
trade,  and  sailing  our  ships  east  and  west  across 
the  seven  seas. 

The  average  tourist,  viewing  the  adobe  ruins 
of  the  Monterey  presidio  and  recalling  the  futile 
guns  of  that  crumbled  fortress,  does  not  dream 
of  the  place  Monterey  filled  in  the  march 
of  international  events.  Nor  will  the  guide 
enlighten  him  as  he  takes  him  over  the  sea- 
girt drive  to  Carmel  and  the  cliffs  of  Point 
Lobos,  for  that  profane,  though  picturesque 
historian  omits  even  to  say  that  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson  furnished  the  plan  for  this  famous 
highway. 

Some  gleams  of  Monterey's  immortal  past 
illumine  the  reverent  traveller  who  climbs  the 
stone  steps  of  Junipero's  Mission  at  Carmel. 
He  knows,  then,  vaguely,  that  he  is  exploring 
the  venerable  tomb  of  one  of  the  great  men 
of  the  world.  And  the  irreverent  guide,  if 
asked,  will  indicate  indifferently  the  spot  on 
the  gospel  side  of  the  sanctuary  where  rest  the 
bones  of  this  prophet  and  builder  of  empire, 
but  before  the  hurrying  train-catcher  has  re- 
turned to  the  Golden  Gate  he  has  ceased  to 
reflect  upon  the  incalculable  debt  America 
owes  to  this  mendicant  seer  and  colonizer 


62O 


Monterey 


who,  in  the  name  of  God,  St.  Francis,  and  the 
King,  added  half  a  continent  to  the  Crown  of 
Spain,  and,  building  better  than  he  knew,  es- 
tablished the  western  foundations  of  the  re- 


CARMEL  MISSION  (RESTORED). 

public   that   was   to   rise  above    Spanish  and 
Mexican  decay. 

Monterey  was  an  old  name  on  the  crude 
maps  of  the  Mexican  frontier.  Eighteen 
years  before  the  May/lower  landed  at  Ply- 
mouth Rock,  Don  Sebastian  Vizcaino  had 
rounded  the  pine -edged  promontory  that 


622  Monterey 

hides  the  harbor  of  Monterey,  and,  anchoring 
in  the  bay,  went  ashore  and  with  sacred  rites 
named  the  port  in  honor  of  Count  de  Mon- 
terey, the  reigning  Viceroy.  For  more  than 
a  century  and  a  half  the  spot  was  not  revisited 
save  by  savage  hunters.  Efforts  to  relocate 
the  harbor  were  without  success. 

Back  of  the  concealing  peninsula  the  bay 
of  Monterey  sweeps  in  a  great  crescent  to 
Santa  Cruz,  thirty  miles  away,  and  to  ex- 
ploring navigators,  shunning  possible  shoals, 
the  coast  presented  a  seemingly  unbroken 
line.  It  came  to  be  the  scientific  belief  that 
some  geologic  upheaval  had  altered  the 
contour  of  the  coast.  Mariners  were  mysti- 
fied. Efforts  to  rediscover  Monterey  assumed 
the  nature  of  crusades.  No  less  a  personage 
than  Caspar  de  Portala,  with  a  retinue  of 
sixty-five  persons,  set  out  overland  from  Lo- 
reto  in  1769  to  find  the  vanished  harbor. 
Without  identifying  the  haven  he  sought,  he 
camped  on  its  tree-rimmed  beaches  and  erected 
a  cross  under  the  ancient  oak  in  whose  shade 
Vizcaino  had  partaken  of  the  sacrament. 

A  year  later  came  the  seer  and  scholar 
Junipero.  Long  before,  in  his  college  in  Ma- 
jorca where  he  graced  with  distinction  the 


Monterey  623 

chair  of  philosophy,  he  had  read  and  treasured 
the  description  Vizcaino  had  given.  Now  he 
recognized  the  surviving  oak  and  the  neigh- 
boring springs,  and,  turning,  he  saw  unrolled 
before  him  the  bay  which,  in  its  vastness,  had 
to  other  eyes  seemed  only  a  part  of  the  open 
sea. 

Inspecting  Portala's  wooden  cross,  Junipero 
saw  that  at  the  base  were  votive  offerings  of 
birds,  shells,  strings  of  fish  newly  caught,  and 
in  a  beaver-skin  quiver  a  cluster  of  arrows 
tipped  with  obsidian.  Here  were  signs  and 
portents  which  to  Junipero  were  ever  a  source 
of  inspiration.  In  after  years  he  learned  that 
the  Eslenes,  or  Monterey  Indians,  had  for 
ages  handed  down  a  tradition  that  some 
day  a  messiah  would  come  to  them ;  and 
that  just  before  the  advent  of  Junipero,  the 
cross  which  Portala  had  reared  seemed  to  rise 
in  the  sky  at  night  until  its  splendor  filled  the 
heavens ;  and  that  then  the  tribes,  believing 
their  deliverer  was  at  hand,  came  with  gifts  of 
food  and  trinkets  to  this  unaccustomed  altar 
and,  in  token  of  the  peace  they  felt,  tied  a 
quiver  of  arrows  to  the  cross. 

In  the  fertile  valley  of  Carmel  just  over  the 
pine-clad  cordillera  that  conceals  the  bay,  on  a 


624 


Monterey 


slope  above  the  thundering  surf,  Junipero 
dedicated  the  Mission  that  was  to  be  named 
San  Carlos  in  honor  of  the  King.  Hanging 


SAN  CARLOS  CHURCH. 


his  bells  on  a  cypress  branch,  he  chimed  the 
tidings  of  the  gospel  he  was  to  preach. 

"  Why  sound  this  call  ?  "  protested  his  com- 
panions ;  "  there  are  no  heathen  here." 

"  Would  that  these  bells  might  be  heard 
around  the  world!"  replied  Junipero. 


Monterey  625 

Few  events  in  Spanish  history  since  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Moors  three  centuries  before 
had  occasioned  the  joy  that  greeted  the  news 
of  the  rediscovery  of  Monterey.  In  the  Mexi- 
can capital  cathedral  bells  pealed  throughout 
the  night,  rockets  flared  in  the  sky,  and  guns 
in  the  forts  kept  up  a  cannonade.  Later,  in 
Madrid  the  rejoicing  was  even  more  tumul- 
tuous. Royal  salutes  were  added  to  the 
acclaim  and  the  King  declared  a  public  holi- 
day. A  sandalled  monk,  seeking  neither  gain 
nor  temporal  glory,  the  leader  of  a  handful 
of  Franciscan  pioneers,  had  restored  a  fabled 
harbor  to  the  world. 

The  discovery  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco, 
reported  at  the  same  time,  was  ignored  as  a 
trivial  and  miscellaneous  item. 

The  celebration  in  honor  of  Junipero's 
discovery  gave  new  impetus  to  his  plans  of 
Christian  conquest,  and  Monterey  was  de- 
clared the  capital  of  the  colonial  empire. 

For  a  time  it  appeared  that  nothing  more 
would  be  needed  to  stimulate  Spain  to  hold 
the  western  coast  of  America  against  the  world. 
But  Castilian  enthusiasm  was  short-lived. 
The  mystery  of  Monterey  having  been  cleared 
away  and  the  event  deliriously  lauded,  Spain 


626  Monterey 

lapsed  into  an  indefinite  programme  concerning 
the  Californian  coast.  Both  Madrid  and  Mex- 
ico all  but  forgot  Monterey  and  the  activities 
of  wandering  friars  who,  radiating  thence,  were 
unconsciously  preparing  the  way  for  a  national 
destiny  as  glorious  as  Spain's,  even  at  the 
height  of  her  circumstance  and  pomp. 

Now  came  the  critical  moment  in  Junipero's 
career,  a  moment  that  was  to  decide  the  fate 
of  the  western  half  of  the  New  World.  An- 
tonio Bucareli  had  been  installed  as  Viceroy  of 
Mexico.  A  keen  man  of  conventional  wis- 
dom, it  seemed  to  him  to  be  a  waste  of  public 
money  to  divert  a  stream  of  gold  to  maintain 
the  far-away  civilizing  dreams  of  mendicants 
centred  at  Carmel.  He  would  close  the  har- 
bor of  San  Bias,  then  maintained  to  equip  ex- 
peditions to  the  Californian  settlements,  and 
abandon  the  fruitless  undertaking  of  trying  to 
populate  bleak  promontories  swept  by  winds 
that  brought  home  no  rich  argosies.  The  en- 
terprise of  his  subjects  should  be  devoted  to 
more  lucrative  pursuits. 

Here  was  need  and  opportunity  for  a  su- 
preme test  of  the  resources  that  had  made  the 
founder  of  Monterey  the  heroic  figure  of  the 
West.  He  saw,  as  did  no  other  Spaniard  of  his 


Monterey  627 

day,  the  splendid  future  awaiting  the  Pacific 
coast.  There  was  no  time  to  halt  between 
two  opinions.  Already  Captain  Behring  had 
explored  northwestern  waters  in  the  name  of 
Russia,  and  now  the  fur  traders  of  that  empire, 
establishing  their  commercial  posts  at  Una- 
laska,  were  prepared  to  claim  the  coast  as  far 
south  as  sea-otters  run.  Captain  Cook  and 
Vancouver  were  about  to  sail  to  try  to  nail  the 
Union  Jack  on  every  headland  from  Sitka  to 
San  Diego.  Disguised  under  the  standard  of 
Portugal,  privateersmen  of  various  nations 
were  hoisting  full  sail  in  the  race  for  western 
conquest,  and  Louis  XVI.  was  planning  to 
equip  Fran9ois  de  Gallup,  Count  de  la  Perouse, 
to  transplant  the  eagles  of  France  to  Cali- 
fornia crags.  The  end  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  a  decade  before  Bucareli's  remarkable 
decision,  had  led  to  a  recarving  of  America 
among  European  powers,  and  jealousy  and 
world-wide  ambition  now  steered  the  sea  in 
search  of  new  empire. 

All  this  was  not  then  apparent  on  the  sur- 
face, but  the  cowled  monk  in  his  Mission  at 
Carmel  divined  events.  Worldly  power  and 
possession  by  him  were  trampled  underfoot. 
In  humility  he  had  turned  his  back  upon  the 


628  Monterey 

emoluments  of  scholarship  to  labor  among  sav- 
ages in  the  remote  wilderness.  The  fame  he 
had  achieved  by  the  rediscovery  of  Monterey 
was  not  of  his  choosing.  Although  he  counted 
all  earthly  things  as  dross  he  knew  the  ac- 
tion of  Bucareli  meant  the  downfall  of  his 
spiritual  kingdom.  In  the  flutter  of  foreign 
sails  he  read  a  menace  to  Spain's  sover- 
eignty on  the  coast.  And  so  it  happened  that 
in  the  same  year  that  Patrick  Henry,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  and  Dabney  Carr  in  the  Raleigh 
tavern  were  pleading  the  cause  that  was  to 
wrest  the  Atlantic  colonies  from  George  III., 
an  aged  cripple  in  coarse  robe  of  gray  serge, 
tied  at  the  waist  with  a  girdle  of  hemp,  em- 
ployed his  splendid  eloquence  in  the  vice- 
regal palace  of  the  Mexican  capital  to  save  the 
Pacific  coast  from  the  hands  of  navigators  who 
with  roving  commissions  of  conquest  from 
European  kings  and  emperors  were  cruising  in 
the  wake  of  Spanish  indecision. 

Here,  again,  Monterey  was  playing  an  all- 
important  part  in  history,  for  it  was  the  fame 
Junipero  had  won  through  its  rediscovery  that 
sped  his  message  to  the  Viceroy  and  through 
him  to  the  King.  The  humble  monk  had 
made  the  long  journey  from  Monterey  with  no 


Monterey  629 

other  escort  save  an  Indian  acolyte,  and 
though  lame,  infirm,  and  of  lowly  mien,  was 
received  with  the  consideration  due  an  ac- 
credited ambassador. 

Bucareli  was  not  only  won  over  to  maintain 
the  Californian  settlements,  but  was  fired  to 
achieve  new  conquests  along  the  upper  coast. 
Junipero's  memorial,  forwarded  to  Madrid,  re- 
awakened the  sentiments  his  rediscovery  of 
Monterey  had  stirred.  By  the  King's  order 
every  recommendation  of  the  pioneer  friar  was 
adopted,  offices  for  California  were  created  at 
permanent  salaries,  the  treasury  at  Guadala- 
jara was  pledged  to  the  colonization  of  the 
Pacific  coast  and  Monterey  named  as  the 
abiding  capital. 

Thus  an  open  highway  to  the  sea  was 
unconsciously  reserved  for  the  United  States. 
Russia  was  forced  up  against  the  Arctic  Circle, 
England  did  not  gain  a  foothold  south  of  the 
island  Vancouver  named,  the  privateers  tacked 
toward  the  South  Seas,  and  when  the  French 
explorer,  Count  de  la  Perouse,  sailed  into  the 
harbor  of  Monterey  the  only  thing  he  could 
do  to  save  his  name  from  engulfing  obscurity 
was  to  introduce  potatoes  to  a  smiling  land. 
The  following  season,  instead  of  the  fleur-de- 


630  Monterey 

lis,  potato  blossoms  in  the  flowering  Carmel 
were  the  only  token  that  the  King  of  France 
had  ever  had  designs  upon  the  coast. 

The  relief  the  Viceroy  sent  to  Monterey  in 
response  to  Jumpero's  plea  came  none  too 
soon.  For  thirty-seven  days  the  latter's  boy- 
hood friend  and  lifelong  colaborer,  Palou, 


OLD  MEXICAN  JAIL. 


and  his  comrades  at  Carmel  had  gone  without 
a  tortilla  or  a  crumb  of  bread,  subsisting  pa- 
tiently on  a  little  meal  ground  from  peas. 
But  now  began  the  years  of  mission  prosper- 
ity and  peace,  and  thereafter  in  Monterey  was 
presented  in  miniature  the  story  of  the  glory 
and  decline  of  Spain. 

For  half  a  century  it  was  the  brilliant  capi- 
tal of  Spain's  new  empire.      It  was  a  thriving 


Monterey  631 

metropolis  and  the  gay  seat  of  the  Spanish 
Court  fifty  years  before  the  settlement  at  San 
Francisco  became  more  than  a  straggling 
pueblo,  struggling  to  survive  against  wind 
and  sand.  In  fact,  for  two  generations  after 
the  founding  of  Monterey  San  Francisco's 
chief  claim  to  distinction  was  that  the  first 
craft  to  pass  through  the  pillared  channel  that 
leads  to  its  incomparable  harbor  was  a  launch 
hewn  from  a  redwood  felled  by  Ayala  on  the 
banks  of  the  Carmel. 

Year  after  year  in  Monterey  were  great  fetes, 
the  laughter  of  beautifully  gowned  women, 
the  melody  of  troubadours,  the  click  of  cas- 
tanets, the  trampling  of  horsemen  in  gay  at- 
tire, the  triumphs  of  governors  and  captains, 
and  the  booming  of  guns  in  the  walled 
presidio.  Here  at  this  capital  titled  officials 
sat  at  the  receipt  of  customs ;  here  galleons 
from  Manila  put  in  for  repairs  and  departed 
with  cargoes  of  furs,  and  hither  came  fragatas 
and  paquebotes  from  the  Mexican  coast  and 
imposing  craft  from  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth.  Over  picturesque  adobe  consulates  in 
Monterey  floated  the  flags  of  foreign  nations 
when  the  only  standard  reared  in  San  Fran- 
cisco was  a  desolate  wooden  cross  in  the 


632  Monterey 

Mission  Dolores.  And  the  road  through  the 
mountain  pines  to  Junipero's  spiritual  capital, 
his  cabecera,  three  miles  away,  over  which  gov- 
ernors followed  by  glittering  retinues  marched 
to  solemnize  their  oaths  of  office  and  whither 
they  were  borne  for  sepulture,  was  worn  to  its 
primal  rocks  long  before  the  path  from  the 
San  Francisco  Mission  to  the  bay  became 
more  than  a  shifting  trail. 

San  Francisco  now  can  stand  these  invidious 
comparisons,  for  when  glory  finally  sailed 
through  the  Golden  Gate,  fame  departed  from 
Monterey. 

The  genius  of  Junipero  gave  to  Monterey 
an  impetus  that  long  survived  his  death.  As 
unconscious  trustee,  Spain,  centring  power  at 
Monterey,  was  holding  the  coast  for  the  larger 
destiny  to  follow. 

The  shadow  of  new  events  crept  toward 
Portala's  cross.  In  a  winter  month  in  the 
third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  an 
unprecedented  happening  awakened  the  fears 
of  the  Franciscans  at  Carmel, — the  holy  water 
in  the  baptismal  font  in  the  San  Carlos  Mis- 
sion was  found  to  be  frozen.  This  unparal- 
leled thing  in  that  bland  clime  could  not,  they 
believed,  but  portend  some  unhappy  fate.  In 


Monterey  633 

confirmation  of  their  worst  fears  came  the 
news  that  the  Viceroy  had  repudiated  alle- 
giance to  the  King.  The  eagle  of  Mexico  had 
soared  above  the  lion  of  Castile,  and  a  rebel 
had  supplanted  the  King  in  the  litany  of 
prayers.  The  corner-stone  of  the  mission 
system  had  been  broken  ;  the  crumbling  pro- 
cess was  at  hand. 

Then  came  Fernandez,  the  Canonigo,  the 
most  exalted  ecclesiastical  dignitary  that  had 
ever  set  foot  in  Monterey.  Junipero  was  a 
Puritan  of  humble  and  contrite  virtue.  The 
Canonigo  was  a  swaggering  roysterer,  pledg- 
ing the  revenues  of  the  Church  in  games  of 
chance.  On  the  occasions  of  Junipero's 
journeyings  from  his  capital,  the  tears  of  his 
neophytes,  the  sound  of  mission  bells,  and  the 
prayers  of  his  comrades  attested  the  reverence 
he  had  won.  Races,  revels,  and  bull-fights  in 
Monterey  celebrated  the  convivial  departure 
of  Fernandez. 

A  new  era  was  at  hand.  Under  the  un- 
stable Mexican  regime,  chaos  followed  confu- 
sion. In  the  twenty-four  years  that  intervened 
before  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  hoisted  over 
Monterey,  proclaimed  the  advent  of  the  golden 
age  in  the  West,  that  city  saw  thirteen 


634  Monterey 

governors  come  and  go.  Communication  with 
Mexico  was  difficult.  A  governor  at  Monterey 
when  he  rose  in  the  morning  did  not  know 
whether  to  salute  the  flag  of  a  liberator,  an 
emperor,  a  rebel,  a  president,  or  a  king.  Mon- 
terey, too,  had  turmoils  and  revolutions  of 
her  own.  Ambitious  intrigue  placarded  her 
adobe  walls  with  flaming  ultimatos.  The  al- 
calde and  regidores  of  one  day  were  prisoners 
in  irons  the  next.  Anarchy  to-day  sat  gravely 
in  the  Ayuntamiento  to-morrow,  and  governors 
turned  fugitive  as  usurpers  assumed  control. 

Yet  these  Monterey  revolutions  were  anae- 
mic, attended  with  less  shedding  of  blood  than 
the  bull-fights  that  celebrated  the  triumphs 
of  her  voluble  warriors.  It  was  the  opera- 
bouffe  warfare  of  little  statesmen  making  their 
clamoring  exit  from  the  stage  of  history. 

The  spectacular  caballero  in  his  jacket 
laced  with  gold  was  passing  away  with  the 
phantoms  he  had  chased.  The  Mission  bells 
grew  silent.  New  horsemen  thronged  over 
the  mountain  roads.  New  sailors  cast  anchor 
in  the  harbor.  A  new  flag  floated  over  the 
presidio,  a  flag  that  was  not  to  be  pulled  down. 
The  American  Republic  had  reached  the 
western  sea. 


Monterey  635 

Of  these  later  events  the  guide  informs 
you  with  some  fidelity  to  the  facts  as  you 
start  on  the  famous  Twenty-Mile  Drive.  He 
tells  you  how  the  brig  Natalia,  upon  which 
Napoleon  escaped  from  Elba,  was  wrecked  by 
storms  in  Monterey  Bay  in  1834  to  typify 
that  Europe's  power  over  California  was  gone 
forever,  and  he  will  sell  you  fragments  of  the 
wreck ;  he  will  tell  you  how  Commodore 
Jones  in  1842,  by  mistake  but  in  prophecy  of 
things  to  come,  hoisted  the  American  ensign 
over  Monterey  ;  how  in  1846,  that  flag,  in  the 
hands  of  Commodore  Sloat,  went  up  to  stay  ; 
how  in  the  following  month  the  first  news- 
paper published  on  the  Pacific  coast  made  its 
appearance  in  Monterey  ;  in  the  corners  of  the 
public  squares  he  will  show  you  the  cannon 
of  John  C.  Fremont,  and  he  will  point  you  to 
the  Gabilan  Mountains  where  on  their  highest 
peak  overlooking  Monterey  the  famed  "path- 
finder" unfurled  the  colors  of  his  country  and 
bade  defiance  to  the  Mexicans,  even  before 
he  knew  that  war  raged  between  the  two 
republics.  Then  your  proud  historian  will  show 
you  the  ancient  adobe  capitol  where  in  1849, 
just  one  hundred  years  from  the  time  Junipero 
set  sail  from  Majorca,  the  first  convention  met 


636 


Monterey 


to  form  the  commonwealth  of  California, — a 
convention  which,  though  composed  in  the 
major  part  of  adventurers,  some  of  whom 
looked  upon  murder  as  a  pastime,  sent  to 
Washington  the  unanimous  declaration  that 


FISHING  VILLAGE. 


slavery  should  never  stain  the  Golden  West, 
and  thus  revived  the  great  conflict  in  the 
Senate  and  caused  the  famous  compromise. 

Then  your  pilot  will  guide  you  to  the  fishing 
villages  whence  Spanish  pescadores  once  put 
out  in  their  shallops  to  harvest  the  bay  for 
the  governor  and  his  Court.  Later  came  the 


Monterey 


637 


American  whalers  before  the  tide  of  commerce 
turned  the  sperm  whale  and  the  finback  to  re- 
moter waters.  Occasionally  yet  comes  a  sul- 
phurbottom  following  the  tides  of  the  Kuro 
Sirva,  and  then  there  is  vast  excitement  in 
Pescadero  Bay. 


ANCIENT  CYPRESS  AT  CYPRESS  POINT. 

Now  through  the  groves  of  giant  pines  at 
the  edge  of  the  sea  where  the  western  Chautau- 
qua  meets,  and  then  to  Cypress  Point,  whose 
trees,  the  guide  informs  you  loftily,  are  identi- 
cal with  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  and  you  are 
nearing  the  resting-place  of  Junipero. 


638 


Monterey 


With  the   adjournment  of   the    convention 
that  met  at  Monterey  in  response  to  the  proc- 


STATUE  OF  JUNIPERO  SERRA. 


lamation  of  the  military  governor  to  frame  a 
State,  the  capital  passed  from  that  historic 
town,  and  for  many  years  the  grave  of  its 
founder  was  forgotten.  The  rush  to  the  gold 


Monterey  639 

mines  trod  underfoot  the  old-time  glories  of 
Monterey.  From  a  throbbing  capital  it  became 
for  a  while  a  deserted  village.  Lichens  grew  in 
its  streets  and  the  roofs  of  its  houses  crumbled. 

As  for  the  Mission  at  Carmel,  rust  muffled 
its  chimes  ;  Spanish  moss  covered  its  tumbling 
pilasters ;  its  sanctuary  was  choked  with  wild 
mustard ;  storms  blew  through  the  fallen 
roof.  The  lizard  alone  kept  watch  of  the  ruin. 

But  when  the  new  civilization  had  built  its 
cities  and  established  its  railways  and  there 
was  time  again  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  rest, 
romance  turned  once  more  to  Monterey.  Cap- 
ital saw  in  its  ruins  an  opportunity  for  gain. 
In  its  environs  Stevenson  beheld  a  paradise  for 
poets,  and  Monterey  became  a  field  of  dalliance, 
a  mecca  for  millionaires  at  play,  an  unfailing 
inspiration  to  every  spirit  in  a  mood  to  dream. 

Junipero  at  Monterey  initiated  the  activities 
that  held  the  coast  against  envious  nations, 
and  now  to  his  tomb  comes  the  tide  of  travel. 
A  few  years  ago  Mrs.  Leland  Stanford,  repre- 
senting patriotic  citizens  and  students  whom 
the  eloquent  writings  of  the  historian  Hit- 
tell  had  inspired  to  veneration  of  Junipero, 
restored  the  ruined  Mission,  so  that  now  his 
tomb  is  marked  by  no  traces  of  neglect,  and 


640  Monterey 

there  with  the  Carmel  surf  chanting  his  eternal 
requiem,  side  by  side  with  the  comrades  he 
loved  and  the  governors  he  and  his  followers 
installed,  this  unconquerable  friar  who  trudged, 
lamely,  ten  thousand  miles  in  the  name  of 
God,  establishing  the  outposts  of  Christianity 
and  opening  the  way  for  the  Democracy 
to  come,  is  receiving  the  tardy  homage  his 
genius  and  character  deserve. 

He  was  indeed  one  of  Emerson's  men  who 
"  pin  continents  together." 

Now  you  climb  to  the  crest  of  the  cordil- 
lera.  Before  you  is  the  circling  bay  with  its 
border  of  white  beaches.  Beyond,  Fremont's 
Peak,  the  tall  sentinel  that  first  proclaimed 
the  advent  of  the  dominant  American.  At 
your  feet  the  quaint  capital  that  Junipero 
founded,  half  adobe,  half  modern.  You  can 
distinguish  the  time-tumbled  walls  that  tell  of 
Spain's  departed  glory,  and  you  see  the  crum- 
bling Cuartel  and  Custom-House  of  the  Mexi- 
cans, who  lacked  the  Spaniards'  Moorish  taste 
in  their  homes  and  public  buildings.  The  old 
capital  has  outlived  its  day.  It  thrives  now 
on  trinkets  and  abelone  shells,  painted  with 
memories  of  the  past.  But  on  your  left,  set 
in  the  midst  of  five  hundred  acres  of  flowers 


642 


Monterey 


and  oaks  and  piroes,  are  luxurious  touches  of 
modern  life  where  business  comes  to   forget 
its  cares,  and  romance  spends  its  honeymoon. 
Descend  the  slope  toward  the  city,  passing 
on  your  way  ruined  adobe  cabins.      Rounding 


ANCIENT  ADOBE  CABIN,  MONTEREY. 

a  turn  in  the  historic  road  you  see  the  smoke 
of  an  incoming  steamer  bringing  holiday  pas- 
sengers through  waters  where,  aforetime,  Span- 
ish corvettes  lurked  for  wily  smugglers.  From 
the  Cuartel  as  you  near  the  old  capital  you 
hear,  instead  of  the  war  ballads  of  quixotic 
guerreros,  the  merriment  of  school-children  at 
play.  On  the  streets,  instead  of  the  alferez 


Monterey  643 

coming  on  caparisoned  horse  to  announce  the 
presence  in  the  harbor  of  a  stranger  craft,  you 
encounter  hotel-runners  clattering  in  'buses  to 
the  pier.  On  surviving  fragments  of  villa  walls 
you  discern  no  solemn  reglamentos.  Adver- 
tisements of  swimming  suits  and  fishing  tackle 
have  supplanted  the  rhetorical  decrees  of  the 
Spanish  governors.  The  descendants  of  the 
naked  Indians  that  crowded  round  the  royal 
carriage  of  Dona  Eulalia  of  Catalonia  a  century 
ago,  shocking  that  titled  lady  to  throw  them 
some  of  her  purple  and  fine  linen,  now  shamble 
by  you  in  slattern  calico  and  jeans,  bearing 
bundles  of  laundry  to  a  neighboring  lagoon. 
The  cleansing  process  of  their  trade  has  for 
them  no  personal  contagion.  In  curio  shops 
that  crowd  the  site  of  the  old  presidio  where 
the  soldiers  of  Charles  III.  performed  their 
part  in  the  programme  of  civilization  Junipero 
had  outlined,  you  buy  your  souvenirs. 

Then  climb  to  Vizcanio's  oak.  Beyond  the 
cross  reared  here  are  the  tottering  memorials 
in  the  ancient  graveyard.  A  century  of 
strange  and  stirring  romance  is  buried  there. 
From  this  weed-grown  cemetery  haunted  by 
memories  which  your  guide  cannot  recall,  you 
again  see  the  town  and  harbor  in  panorama,  and 


644  Monterey 

you  get  clearer  glimpses  of  the  paradise  into 
which  landscape-gardeners  have  transformed 
surrounding  acres  of  sand-dunes  over  which 
pobladores  once  ranged  seeking  pasturage  for 
their  herds. 

At  your  feet,  along  a  well-kept  road  of 
pounded  shells,  and  across  bridges  framed  of 
the  skeletons  of  whales  buttressed  with  moss- 
grown  rocks,  roll  automobiles  and  victorias  in 
the  pursuit  of  pleasure.  Follow  them  blithely, 
if  you  will,  waving  your  hand  to  the  past ;  or, 
in  the  true  spirit  of  historic  pilgrimage,  kneel 
in  this  place  of  burial  and  spell  the  imper- 
fectly chiselled  story  of  the  Spanish  pioneers 
who,  despite  their  visionary  dreams,  held,  for 
the  government  Washington  was  founding,  a 
highway  to  the  Pacific. 


LOS  ANGELES 

THE  CITY  OF  THE   ANGELS 

BY  FLORENCE  E.  WINSLOW 

"  \  7ERY  near  the  terrestrial  paradise,"  said 
^  the  old  Spanish  explorer  of  the  sunlit 
country,  where  stood  in  a  later  century  the 
pueblo  of  Los  Angeles.  Very  near  the  ter- 
restrial paradise  has  it  seemed  to  weary 
travellers,  hopeful  invalids,  and  delighted 
home-makers,  who  have  from  year  to  year  wan- 
dered across  the  desert  to  find  rest,  health,  and 
comfort  in  a  climate  where  the  terms  winter 
and  summer  are  misnomers,  where  snows  are 
seen  only  on  the  mountain-tops  above  the 
flowering  plain,  where  severe  heats  are  un- 
known, and  where  Nature  rewards  those  who 
seek  her  gifts  in  largest  measure.  Climate 
and  situation  are  the  environing  elements 
which  count  for  most  in  the  development 
of  the  history  of  Los  Angeles.  These  are 

645 


646  Los  Angeles 

responsible  both  for  the  easy,  courteous,  pleas- 
ure-loving lives  of  the  Spanish  rancheros,  and 
the  strenuous,  vivid,  progressive,  municipal 
experiences  of  the  Americans  in  this  modern 
"  pleasure  city." 

Los  Angeles  treasures  the  memory  of  an- 
cient Spanish  days  of  daring  and  romance, 
among  which  lie  the  beginnings  of  its  civil  life. 
All  that  is  left  of  the  old  Pueblo  de  Nuestra 
Senora  la  Reina  de  los  Angeles  may  be  seen 
now  clustered  about  the  old  plaza,  with  its 
church,  in  what  is  known  as  Sonora  town. 
Here  the  sun-baked  adobe  walls  of  the  houses 
nestle,  with  their  Mexican  residents,  in  the 
midst  of  the  bustling  city,  awaiting  the  final 
decay  which  marks  the  passing  of  the  Pueblo. 

Precedent  to  later  social  conditions  of  ease, 
the  careful  student  will  find  in  the  lives  of  the 
earlier  settlers  of  Alta  California  a  strong, 
vital,  self-sacrificing  religious  impulse,  which, 
upon  Pacific  as  upon  Atlantic  shores,  induced 
the  initial  movement  in  a  civilization  which 
moved  to  its  attempted  end  indifferent  to 
climate  or  environment,  and  using  the  material 
only  to  subserve  the  interests  of  the  dominant 
spiritual.  Junipero  Serra,  with  his  mission  set- 
tlers of  1 769,  was  in  subtlest  ways  akin  to  the 


BELLS  OF  SAN  QABRIEL. 


647 


648  Los  Angeles 

Pilgrim  Fathers  of  the  preceding  century. 
As  Los  Angeles  was  but  a  humble  dependent 
on  San  Gabriel  Mission,  its  beginnings  may 
best  be  traced  in  connection  with  the  history 
of  the  mission  fathers,  the  earliest  colonizers 
and  civilizers  of  the  sunset  land.  Their  un- 
stinted and  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  the 
Indians  of  California,  their  great  mission 
trade-schools,  where  not  only  the  salvation  of 
souls  but  the  training  of  the  minds  and  hands 
of  the  neophytes  was  undertaken,  their  wise 
administration  of  their  trusts,  both  spiritual 
and  material,  make  this  initial  movement  in 
the  colonization  of  California  one  of  the 
brightest  incidents  in  the  story  of  the  Golden 
West. 

Out  of  the  mists  of  romance  which  envelop 
the  earlier  explorers  of  the  Pacific  Coasts 
appear  the  forms  of  Cabrillo  and  Vizcaino,  the 
first  historic  visitors  to  Southern  California. 

It  may  be  that  Francisco  de  Ulloa  had  in 
1539  gained  from  the  Pacific  a  glimpse  of  the 
land,  or  that  Hernando  de  Ala^on  from 
the  Gila  country  saw  the  plain  of  Los  Angeles 
in  1540.  Sure  it  is  that  Cabrillo  in  1542,  and 
Vizcaino  in  1603  visited  San  Diego  and  San 
Pedro,  the  port  of  Los  Angeles.  The  latter 


Los  Angeles 


649 


landed  at  San  Diego,  seeking  a  suitable  port 
for  ships  engaged  in  trade  with  the  Philip- 
pines, dug  wells,  and  erected  a  church  tent 
for  three  friars  who  were  of  the  party,  and 
then  for  166  years  this  "fair  land  without 


SAN  DIEQO  MISSION.     FOUNDED  1769. 

snow"  drops  out  of  history.  It  is  left  to  its 
Indian  residents,  left  treasuring  its  resources 
for  future  generations,  for  new  peoples. 

In  1769  came  Junipero  Serra — saint,  hero, 
and  Franciscan  father.  In  him  the  romance 
of  missionary  enterprise  finds  embodiment ; 
with  him  and  his  missions  the  colonization  of 
Alta  California  began.  The  missions  in  the 
peninsula  of  Lower  California  were,  by  the 


650  Los  Angeles 

expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  in  1767,  left  in  charge 
of  the  Franciscans,  and  Serra's  burning  zeal 
for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  led  him  to 
urge  the  prosecution  of  a  long-cherished  plan 
of  the  Government.  This  was  to  provide  the 
Manila  ships  with  good  ports  on  the  north- 
west coasts  and  to  promote  settlements  there. 
There  was  a  union  of  spiritual  and  physical 
forces — soldiers  under  the  military  govern- 
ment of  Portola  co-operating  with  the  mission- 
aries under  Serra.  Four  expeditions,  two  pro- 
ceeding by  sea  and  two  by  land,  were  reunited 
at  San  Diego,  where,  on  July  i6th,  the  noble 
missionary  dedicated  the  first  mission  in  Alta 
California.  It  was  but  two  years  later  that  the 
Mission  San  Gabriel  Arcangel  was  founded, 
with  solemn  chants  of  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus 
and  Te  Deum  Laudamus,  and  in  the  presence 
of  many  Indians.  Serra,  who  had  entered  in 
a  litter  the  land  of  promise  where  his  zeal 
and  courage  were  to  accomplish  so  much, 
had  already  travelled  toward  San  Francisco, 
crossing  mountain  and  desert  on  foot,  and 
establishing  the  Mission  of  San  Carlos.  The 
missions  were  firmly  organized  and  devoutly 
conducted,  and  there  were  eighteen  of  them 
by  the  end  of  the  century.  Forty  padres 


Los  Angeles  651 

had  gathered  in  these  first  industrial  training- 
schools  a  population  of  13,500  converted 
Indian  neophytes,  to  whom  they  had  taught 
the  arts  of  civilization. 

San  Gabriel  became  one  of  the  richest 
missions.  Its  church  has  never  been  dis- 
used ;  to-day  it  welcomes  strangers  as  in  the 
time  when  it  received  those  weary  pilgrims, 
the  founders  of  Los  Angeles,  who  came  from 
Loreto  across  the  deserts  of  Colorado,  on  the 
route  first  taken  by  Anza  through  the  San 
Gorgonio  pass,  and  were  provided  by  the 
hospitable  fathers  with  all  that  was  needed 
for  rest  and  refreshment.  The  centre  of  the 
civilized  and  agricultural  life  of  the  district, 
San  Gabriel,  was  a  great  material  as  well  as 
spiritual  force.  It  had  its  guard  of  ten  sol- 
diers and  its  three  padres.  Two  of  these, 
Cruzado  and  Sanchez,  ministered  side  by  side 
to  the  California  Indians  for  thirty  years,  and 
the  latter  had  a  missionary  experience  of 
fifty-five  years. 

The  name  of  Los  Angeles  is  first  found  in 
the  Mission  report  of  1773.  It  is  given  to  the 
river  first  named  Porzinucula  discovered  by 
Portola's  expedition  of  1 769.  This  discovery, 
as  recorded  by  Padre  Crespi,  was  made  upon 


652  Los  Angeles 

the  anniversary  of  the  feast  of  our  Lady  of 
Angels.  The  Pueblo  de  Nuestra  Senora  la 
Reina  de  los  Angeles  was  founded  in  1781. 
Till  then  there  had  been  in  the  new  country 
only  missions  and  presidios,  the  military  sta- 
tions ;  but  the  settlement  of  colonies  in  pueblos 
was  part  of  the  original  Spanish  plan,  and  the 
necessity  of  obtaining  additional  supplies  for 
the  use  of  the  presidios  gave  the  needed 
stimulus. 

Under  instructions  issued  by  Governor 
Neve  a  site  for  a  dam  was  first  selected,  water 
being  then  as  now  a  primary  essential.  The 
pueblo  was  placed  on  high  land  near  these 
facilities  for  irrigation,  a  plaza  of  two  hundred 
by  three  hundred  varas  being  laid  out,  with 
corners  facing  the  cardinal  points,  so  that 
three  streets  should  run  perpendicularly  from 
each  of  its  four  sides,  that  no  street  might  be 
swept  by  the  winds.  Yet  tradition  saith  that 
Los  Angeles  winds  have  not  kept  always  to 
the  cardinal  points.  Solares,  or  house-lots,  of 
twenty  by  forty  varas  were  given  to  settlers  in 
numbers  equal  to  the  available  suertes,  field- 
lots.  Two  suertes  of  dry,  and  two  of  irrigable 
land,  were  given  to  each  family.  One  fourth 
of  the  suertes  were  left  vacant,  as  realangas  or 


Los  Angeles 


653 


government  lands,  while  a  number,  called  pro- 
prios,  were  reserved  for  municipal  expenses. 
Colonists  received  ten  dollars  a  month  each, 


THE  PUEBLO  OF  LOS  ANQELES.     EARLY  SPANISH  PLAN. 

SUERTES    FROM    C    TO    E. 

for'  two  years ;  also  regular  rations,  seeds, 
clothing,  and  live  stock.  Twelve  men  with 
their  families,  including  eleven  women  and 
twenty-six  children,  were  the  colonizers  of  Los 
Angeles.  They  were  principally  Spanish 


654  Los  Angeles 

soldiers.  On  September  14,  1781,  the  plaza 
of  the  new  town  was  solemnly  dedicated  by 
the  mission  priests,  who  came  in  procession 
from  San  Gabriel,  attended  by  Indian  neo- 
phytes and  a  guard  of  soldiers.  To  the  twelve 
settlers,  twelve  building-lots  were  given. 
These  were  laid  out  on  three  sides  of  the 
plaza,  while  the  fourth  was  reserved  for  a 
church  and  public  buildings.  In  1786  the 
Governor  sent  Jose  Arguello  to  formally  re- 
new the  leases  of  houses,  lots,  and  branding- 
irons.  At  this  time  not  one  settler  could  sign 
his  name.  A  small  church  was  erected  in 
1784.  It  was  but  twenty-three  by  fifty  feet  in 
size,  and  was  served  by  the  padres  of  San 
Gabriel.  One  of  these,  Padre  Oumetz,  was 
for  thirty  years  a  companion  of  Serra  in  his 
missionary  labors.  He  died  at  San  Gabriel  in 
181 1.  It  was  at  least  twenty  years  before  Los 
Angeles  ceased  to  be  dependent  on  San 
Gabriel  and  to  develop  a  small  trade  of  its 
own.  Outside  the  pueblo  provisional  grants 
of  ranches  were  soon  made.  The  largest 'and 
best  of  all  of  these  was  known  later  as  Los 
Nietos,  and  was  given  to  the  heirs  of  Manuel 
Nito  by  Figueroa,  who  divided  it  into  tracts 
in  1834.  The  Dominguez  rancho,  given  by 


Los  Angeles 


655 


Pages  to  Don  Jose  Dominguez,  was  regranted 
by  Sola  in  1822  to  Sergeant  Christobal  Do- 
minguez. La  Zanja,  the  home  of  the  Verdugos, 
the  Encino  and  the  Simi  ranches,  Las  Virgines, 
El  C  o  n  e  j  o 
Santa  Ana,  the 
Bartolo  Tapia 
and  Antonio 
Maria  ranches, 
were  the  homes 
of  such  families 
as  the  Picos  and 
Ortegas,  whose 
wealth  and 
power  contrib- 
uted to  the  fu- 
ture glory  of 
the  pueblo  near 
whic  h  they 
lived,  while  the 
Felix  ranch 
was  actually 
within  the  pueblo  bounds. 

Settled  largely  by  soldiers,  Los  Angeles 
came  under  military  government  and  was  slow 
to  develop  self-governing  local  principles. 
It  was  ruled  by  commissionados,  of  whom 


DON  PIO  PICO, 

THE    LAST    MEXICAN    GOVERNOR. 


656  Los  Angeles 

Felix  was  the  first,  and  by  alcaldes.  But  lo- 
cal jurisdiction  was  limited,  and  cases  went 
beyond  the  towns  to  be  decided  by  military 
garrisons  a  hundred  miles  away.  By  1810  the 
population  was  365  and  the  crops  in  the  fertile, 
well-watered  plain  amazingly  large.  By  1820 
the  ninety-one  pobladores  now  occupying  the 
town  site  were  able  to  supply  much  produce 
to  the  presidios,  while  56,600  vines  were  flour- 
ishing in  the  vineyards  about  San  Gabriel. 
In  1814  Padre  Gil  Taboada  laid  the  corner- 
stone of  a  new  church,  but  the  site  was 
changed  and  there  was  difficulty  in  raising  the 
necessary  funds  ;  so  the  building  was  not  com- 
pleted until  1822.  The  builders  were  Indian 
neophytes,  who  were  paid  at  the  rate  of  one 
real  (i2-|-  cts.)  a  day.  The  citizens  contrib- 
uted five  hundred  cattle,  and  the  missions 
subscribed  seven  barrels  of  brandy,  worth 
$575,  wine,  cattle,  and  mules.  A  new  gov- 
ernment building  was  added,  and  both  this 
and  the  church  were  surrounded  by  houses 
of  the  aristocracy.  Ignacio  Coronel  was  one 
who  at  this  time  petitioned  for  a  house-lot 
near  the  "new"  church.  The  first  resident 
priest,  Fray  Geromino  Boscana,  took  posses- 
sion of  his  parish  house  in  a  town  of  six 


DON  ANTONIO  F.  CORONEL, 

WITH   SPANISH    CANNON    BROUGHT    TO  SAN    DIEGO    BY    8ERRA    IN    1788. 


657 


658  Los  Angeles 

hundred  souls.  The  church  was  enlarged  in 
1 84 r,  and  reroofed  in  1861.  Education  in  Los 
Angeles  began  with  a  village  school  taught 
by  Maxima  Pina,  who  began  his  labors  in  1 790, 
receiving  a  salary  of  $  1 40  a  year.  Coronel  was 
a  later  teacher. 

In  1822  California  became  a  province  of 
the  Mexican  Empire,  the  military  office  was 
abolished,  the  alcaldes  were  retained,  a  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  were  added,  and  an  elective 
body,  the  Ayuntamiento,  was  established. 
Thus  the  government  of  Los  Angeles  went 
on  about  as  it  had  gone  under  the  rule  of 
Spain.  The  Ayuntamiento  was  elected  an- 
ually  until  1839,  and  proved  a  most  versatile 
body,  constantly  changing  its  political  attitudes 
during  the  controversies  of  later  years. 

The  mission  fathers  made  little  objection 
to  this  change  of  government,  but  when,  in 
[824,  Mexico  became  a  republic  and  Alta 
California  its  territory,,  they  opposed  them- 
selves to  the  ruling  powers.  From  this  time 
on  the  Mexican  Government  pressed  its  plans 
of  secularization  until,  in  1834,  the  ruin  of  the 
missions  was  complete,  and  that  of  the  gentle 
Indians,  whose  rights  they  had  hitherto 
guarded,  was  begun. 


Los  Angeles 


659 


Durant  Cilly,  a  visitor  to  Los  Angeles  in 
1827,  found  a  "  city  of  gardens,"  and  in  1830, 
a  prosperous  year  of  large  crops,  there  were 


THE  OLD  PLAZA  CHURCH,  LOS  ANGELES. 

one  thousand  inhabitants  who,  by  vessels  land- 
ing at  the  port  of  San  Pedro,  engaged  in  a 
large  trade  in  hides  and  tallow. 

In   1818  the  first  American  arrived  in  Los 


660  Los  Angeles 

Angeles.  He  was  followed  by  a  succession 
of  trappers  and  hunters.  There  was  Captain 
Paty  who,  with  a  party  of  Kentucky  trappers, 
visited  the  town  and  was  baptized  into  the 
Catholic  faith  at  San  Diego,  Don  Pico  acting 
as  sponsor.  Pryor's  party  settled  in  the 
pueblo,  and  built  houses  and  planted  vine- 
yards. Next  came  sailors  of  the  brig  Danube, 
which  went  ashore  off  San  Pedro  on  Christmas 
Eve,  1828.  These  were  all  hospitably  wel- 
comed in  Los  Angeles.  Samuel  Prentice  of 
Connecticut  came,  and  John  Gronigen,  the 
first  German  settler,  planted  his  vineyard 
on  the  ground  afterwards  occupied  by  the 
Domingo  block.  A  trade  with  Santa  Fe 
sprang  up,  and  Wolfskill,  who  came  with  a 
party  of  trappers  in  1830,  brought  Mojave 
blankets,  exchanging  them  for  mules.  In 
1832-33  more  Americans  came  from  New 
Mexico.  There  were  Paulding,  Carpenter  and 
Chard,  Moses  Carson,  and  later  Benjamin 
Hayes,  who  was  for  eleven  years  district  judge 
of  Los  Angeles,  and,  after  1847,  more  trappers 
and  many  sailors,  who  were  willing  to  remain 
and  plough  land.  Last  of  all  came  the  Ameri- 
can merchant,  farmer,  and  speculator.  By 
1836,  there  were  in  Los  Angeles  forty-six 


Los  Angeles  66 1 

foreigners,  of  whom  twenty-one  were  Ameri- 
cans;  also  553  Indians,  the  remaining  2228 
inhabitants  of  the  district  being  Mexicans 
and  Spaniards,  the  latter  of  pure  Castilian 
blood,  with  a  generous  and  wise  pride  in  a 
high  descent,  the  aristocrats  of  the  coast. 

Slight  attempts  at  ship-building  were  made 
at  San  Pedro  in  1831,  Padre  Sanchez  of  San 
Gabriel  aiding  Wolfskill,  Pryor,  Prentice, 
Fount,  and  Loughlin  to  build  a  schooner.  In 
J833,  when  Antonio  Osio  had  charge  of  the 
port  trade,  Los  Angeles  shipped  one  hundred 
thousand  hides  and  twenty-five  thousand  cen- 
tals of  tallow,  but  the  trade  slackened  after 
the  secularization  in  1834.  The  cattle  of  San 
Gabriel  were  all  slaughtered,  and  by  1840  the 
mission  live  stock  had  disappeared.  Padre 
Estenega  in  1845  gave  UP  tne  mission  estates 
to  the  Government. 

A  strenuous  and  important  period  in  the 
history  of  the  town  followed.  From  1831  to 
1840  the  Angelenos  held  themselves  largely 
responsible  for  the  salvation  of  California,  as 
they  understood  it ;  and  Los  Angeles  became 
the  centre  of  political  agitation.  The  South 
was  divided  against  the  North,  and  often 
against  itself,  and  many  typical  California 


662  Los  Angeles 

battles,  terrific  in  bluster  and  intent,  but  blood- 
less in  reality,  occurred  near  the  old  pueblo. 

It  was  during  the  banishment  of  Jose  Car- 
rillo,  with  whom  Vincente  Sanchez,  alcalde  of 
Los  Angeles,  had  quarrelled,  that  the  trouble 
with  Victoria,  the  Mexican  Governor,  came. 
Sanchez  had  been  deposed  by  the  Ayunta- 
miento,  but  was  reinstated  as  alcalde  by 
Victoria,  who  at  the  same  time  ordered  the 
imprisonment  of  eight  prominent  citizens.  An 
insurgent  army  defeated  Victoria  in  a  fight 
near  Los  Angeles,  and  the  Governor,  deserted 
by  his  army,  surrendered  to  Echeandia  De- 
cember 4,  1831,  and  was  allowed  to  depart 
the  country.  Sanchez  was  put  in  irons.  One 
hundred  citizens  took  part  in  this  battle. 

Los  Angeles  was  made  not  only  a  city  but 
the  capital  in  1835,  an<^  soon  became  the  storm- 
centre  of  the  country.  There  may  have  been 
lack  of  zeal  in  providing  necessary  public 
buildings  for  the  Government,  but  there  was 
none  at  all  in  furnishing  abundantly  that 
quality  of  fiery  zeal  essential  to  Mexican 
revolutions.  Governor  Carrillo  made  the  town 
his  residence  in  1838.  Alvarado  succeeded 
him  when  the  plots  and  counterplots  of  the 
disputacions  had  sent  Carrillo  to  the  North. 


Los  Angeles 


663 


Jose  Figueroa  made  an  able  governor,  but 
he  died  in  1835,  and  a  period  of  conflict,  during 
which  Los  Angeles,  as  the  capital  of  the 
South,  was  arrayed  against  the  North,  fol- 


A  TYPICAL  COTTAGE 


lowed.  Alvarado,  who  had  declared  California 
a  sovereign  state,  entered  the  town  in  1837 
and  subdued  the  Mexican  sympathizers.  Two 
years  later  Alvarado  divided  Alta  California 
into  two  districts,  making  Los  Angeles  the 


664  Los  Angeles 

capital  of  the  South,  with  Santiago  Arguello 
as  prefect. 

Great  efforts  were  at  this  time  made  to 
beautify  the  city,  and  there  were  gay  scenes  in 
these  days  in  the  old  pueblo.  The  owners  of 
the  great  ranches  entertained  largely,  visiting 
from  house  to  house,  dressing  gayly,  and  en- 
gaging in  all  sorts  of  equestrian  sports.  The 
men  lived  in  their  saddles ;  the  women  were 
the  gayest  and  sweetest  of  hostesses,  while 
they  were  yet  domestic,  and  brought  up  large 
families  easily  in  the  free,  open-air  life  which 
the  conditions  of  fine  climate  and  rich  soil 
made  possible.  When  Micheltorena  in  1842 
made  his  capital  in  Los  Angeles,  the  gayeties 
reached  their  height ;  he  was  received  with 
enthusiasm  by  the  Ayuntamiento  ;  there  were 
speeches,  salutes,  and  illuminations  ;  balls  and 
sports  alternated  with  juntas  and  revolutions. 
Yet  Los  Angeles  was  glad  to  be  rid  of  Michel- 
torena when  he  removed  to  Monterey,  and  its 
citizens  were  foremost  in  a  revolt  against  him 

o 

in  1845,  and  fought  him  without  the  city  in  a 
battle  where  there  was  much  cannonading  and 
no  bloodshed.  Pio  Pico  was  head  of  the 
Commission  which  met  in  Los  Angeles  and 
banished  Micheltorena. 


Los  Angeles  665 

The  city  remained  the  capital  of  the  de- 
partment of  the  South,  and  Pio  Pico  was 
Governor  while  Jose  Castro  acted  as  General. 
Castro  again  went  to  the  North  and  soon 
joined  Carrillo  against  Pico  in  a  new  quarrel 
of  North  and  South. 

It  was  in  1846,  when  California  was  rent 
with  the  controversy  between  Castro,  repre- 
senting the  military,  and  Pico,  the  civil  power, 
and  the  March  Assembly  was  in  session  at  Los 
Angeles,  that  the  approach  of  the  forces  of  the 
United  States,  under  Stockton  and  Fremont, 
forced  the  contending  commanders  to  unite  at 
Los  Angeles  in  opposition  to  a  common  foe. 

Abel  Stearns,  the  confidential  agent  of  the 
United  States  in  the  South,  owned  a  ware- 
house in  San  Pedro.  John  Forster  was  made, 
in  1843,  captain  of  the  port  ;  in  1845  Commo- 
dore Jones  landed  here  to  make  his  apologies 
to  Micheltorena  for  his  premature  raising  of 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  at  Monterey.  Here 
Micheltorena  embarked  for  exile  ;  and  here,  in 
1846,  Commodore  Stockton  disembarked  with 
his  sailors  for  the  capture  of  Los  Angeles, 
having  already  raised  the  American  flag  at 
Monterey.  Refusing  all  the  attempts  at  con- 
ciliation offered  by  Pico  and  Castro,  Stockton 


666 


Los  Angeles 


united  his  forces  with  those  of  the  California 
battalion  under  Fremont,  who  had  landed  at 
San  Diego,  entered  Los  Angeles,  and  raised 
the  American  flag  at  4  P.M.  of  August  13,  1846. 

Pico  and  Castro  had  left  the  city  to  escape 
the  dishonor  of 
surrender,  and 
the  frightened 
inhabitants  had 
fled  to  the  neigh- 
boring ranches, 
but  returned  to 
their  homes  be- 
fore night,  at- 
tracted by  the  ir- 
resistible strains 
of  a  brass  band, 
and  assured  that 
they  would  be 
left  unharmed. 

Stockton  ordered  the  election  of  new 
alcaldes,  and  appointed  Fremont  military 
commander  of  the  district.  When  both  com- 
manders returned  to  the  North,  Gillespie, 
with  a  garrison  of  fifty  men,  was  left  in  charge 
of  Los  Angeles.  He  seems  to  have  inter- 
fered with  the  amusements  of  the  people. 


JOHN  C.  FREMONT. 


Los  Angeles  667 

and  to  have  made  himself  needlessly  un- 
popular. A  revolt  was  organized,  and  Flores, 
one  of  Castro's  generals,  appeared,  with  three 
hundred  men  at  his  back,  and  summoned  the 
garrison  to  surrender.  This  Gillespie  did, 
after  bravely  holding  Fort  Hill  for  a  time. 
The  Americans  took  ship  from  San  Pedro  on 
October  4th. 

The  reconquest  of  Los  Angeles  took  place 
on  January  i8th.  General  Kearny,  with  Kit 
Carson  as  guide,  had  succeeded  in  joining 
Stockton  at  San  Diego,  and  the  united  forces, 
after  a  two-hours'  engagement  at  San  Gabriel 
and  another  brief  skirmish  without  the  city, 
entered  Los  Angeles,  while  the  leaders  of  the 
revolt  fled  to  Cahuenga,  and  surrendered  to 
Fremont,  who  made  generous  terms  of  capitu- 
lation with  Andres  Pico,  Flores,  and  Manuel. 
This  clemency  endeared  him  to  the  Cali- 
fornians.  It  became  his  boast  that  he  could 
ride  unharmed  alone  from  one  end  of  the 
conquered  country  to  the  other.  Stockton 
made  him  Governor  of  Los  Angeles  while  the 
controversy  between  Kearny  and  Stockton,  as 
to  which  was  the  chief  authority  in  the  conduct 
of  affairs  in  the  new  country,  was  in  progress. 
Fremont  chose  to  obey  Stockton,  with  whom 


668  Los  Angeles 

he  had  worked  in  unison  during  the  Northern 
conquests  and  before  the  arrival  of  Kearny. 
Kearny  was  technically  in  the  right  in  de- 
manding the  submission  of  Fremont,  as  the 
court-martial  of  the  latter  (in  Washington,  at 
a  later  day)  made  evident  ;  but  under  the 
circumstances  of  the  quarrel  of  the  two  leaders 
at  Los  Angeles,  Fremont's  allegiance  to  Stock- 
ton seems  to  have  been  his  only  manly  course. 
This  was  an  era  in  which  Los  Angeles  grew 
from  an  easy-going  Spanish  pueblo  into  a 
progressive  American  city.  Nowhere  have 
Americans  stood  more  completely  in  the 
position  of  conquerors  in  a  new  land.  Called 
upon  to  improvise  hastily  a  government  for  a 
large  body  of  strangers,  these  citizens  showed, 
together  with  carelessness  and  over-hastiness,— 
and  an  indifference  to  the  rights  of  strangers, 
both  Indians  and  Spaniards,  of  which  we  can- 
not be  proud, — some  of  our  best  national  traits. 
From  the  first,  the  pioneers  were  courageous 
and  teachable,  and  succeeded,  after  many 
mistakes,  in  building  up  a  permanent,  well- 
organized,  and  progressive  municipality.  Gen- 
eral Fremont  was  undoubtedly  most  popular 
among  the  Spanish  people.  His  youth  en- 
abled him  to  enter  in  a  large  degree  into  their 


Los  Angeles  669 

sports  ;  his  clemency  in  pardoning  Flores  and 
the  other  generals  of  the  rebellion  won  their 
applause. 

It  was  from  his  gubernatorial  residence, 
the  old  two-story  adobe  at  the  corner  of  Aliso 
and  Los  Angeles  Streets,  that  Fremont  set 
forth  with  Jesus  Pico  and  Jacob  Dodson  for 
his  famous  mustang  ride  to  Monterey.  The 
feat,  with  its  object, — to  defend  his  position  as 
Governor  against  Kearny, — was  such  as  to  ap- 
peal to  the  imagination  of  the  people  of  Los 
Angeles,  both  Mexican  rancheros  and  Ameri- 
can trappers  and  sailors.  Over  desert  and 
mountain  the  three  riders  flew,  leaving  on  the 
morning  of  March  22d  and  reaching  Mon- 
terey, five  hundred  miles  away,  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  fourth  day.  The  return  was 
accomplished  with  equal  speed,  so  that  the 
trip  of  one  thousand  miles  was  made  in  a  little 
over  eight  days.  Fremont  did  great  service 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  where  he 
pleaded  for  the  land  rights  of  Indian  and 
Spanish  residents,  and  in  later  years,  when 
his  influence  aided  in  the  exclusion  of 
slavery  from  the  new  State  of  California. 
The  town  council  was  re-established  in  1847, 
Don  Jose  Salazar  and  Don  Enrique  Abila 


670  Los  Angeles 

being  alcaldes  ;  but  in  1848  Governor  Mason 
dissolved  the  council  and  installed  Stephen  G. 
Foster  as  alcalde.  A  semi-military  rule  was 
kept  up  under  Colonel  Stevenson  until  May, 
1849,  when  a  new  ayuntamiento  was  estab- 
lished. 

The  cattle  trade  was  at  its  best  from  1850 
to  1860,  when  in  one  year  one  hundred  thou- 
sand hides  at  $15  apiece  were  shipped  from 
San  Pedro,  but  the  business  was  injured  by 
the  drouth  of  1863  and  1864.  The  town 
grew  slowly,  increasing  in  orchards  and  vine- 
yards, its  ranches, — many  new  ones  having 
been  granted  by  Pico  in  1846, — sheltered  in 
the  bend  of  the  Los  Angeles  River,  which,  by 
ancient  decree,  is,  from  the  mountains  down, 
the  property  of  the  city.  In  1851  Los  An- 
geles grapes  brought  in  San  Francisco  20  cte. 
a  pound;  at  the  mines,  $i.  The  city  escaped 
the  excitement  of  the  gold  fever,  although  the 
yellow  metal  was  first  discovered  near  Los 
Angeles  in  1835.  Among  the  noted  Spanish 
families  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  were  the 
Lugos,  the  Sepulvedas,  the  Bandinis,  the  Es- 
tudillos,  the  Oliveros,  the  Picos,  and  the 
Coronels.  Prominent  among  the  pioneers  of 
old  Los  Angeles  were  the  Workmans,  Temples, 


672  Los  Angeles 

and  Wolfskills,  David  W.  Alexander,  Colonel 
Couts,  and  Governor  Downey,  Judge  J.  R. 
Scott  and  Benjamin  D.  Wilson,  Robert  S. 
Baker  and  Hugo  Reid.  Hon.  H.  C.  Foster, 
one  of  the  early  mayors  of  Los  Angeles,  be- 
came a  resident  of  the  city  in  1847.  Gov- 
ernor Pio  Pico,  who  had  fled  at  the  approach 
of  Stockton  to  save  the  "honor"  of  Mexico, 
returned  and  became  a  conspicuous  private 
citizen.  He  lived  to  a  great  age,  duly  per- 
forming his  duty  as  a  registered  voter. 

It  was  Don  Antonio  Coronel,  dead  but  a 
decade,  who  most  picturesquely  and  honor- 
ably represented  to  the  new  Los  Angeles  the 
old  regime.  He  was  of  "  courtly  presence, 
ripe  experience,  high  integrity,  and  great  per- 
sonal fascination,"  and  was  to  his  latest  days 
".a  quenchless  patriot,  white-haired,  clear- 
eyed,  and  supple,"  the  life  of  any  circle  he 
might  be  persuaded  to  adorn.  His  father, 
Don  Ignacio  Coronel,  came  to  the  town  with 
the  Hijar  Colony.  He  was  a  man  of  note 
and  opened  in  1839  a  school, — much  needed, 
if  the  fact  be  true  that  there  were  then  in  the 
pueblo  but  fifty-four  men  who  could  read  and 
write.  Antonio  was  in  1843  Visitador  del  Sud 
under  the  Mexican,  and  in  1853  Mayor  of  Los 


FIRST  STAGE  IN  THE  ASCENT  OF  MT.  LOWE,  CONNECTING  WITH 
ELECTRIC  ROAD  ON  ECHO  MOUNTAIN. 


673 


674  Los  Angeles 

Angeles  under  the  American,  Government. 
He  was  a  warm  friend  of  Helen  Hunt  Jack- 
son, who  thoroughly  identified  herself  with 
the  interests  of  the  older  peoples  of  Los 
Angeles  and  its  environs. 

Up  to  1852  the  houses  in  Los  Angeles  were 
of  adobe, — the  sun-baked  brick  of  the  country, 
— and  these  were  comfortable  indeed,  cool  in 
summer  and  warm  in  winter.  It  was  in  one  of 
these  ample  residences — that  of  Colonel  J.  G. 
Nichols — that  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Brier,  of  the  M. 
E.  Church,  held  the  first  regular  Protestant 
service,  and  in  another  that  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Wicks,  a  Presbyterian,  opened  the  first  Eng- 
lish-speaking school.  These  events  were  in 
1850,  so  that  church  and  school  were  ready 
to  receive  the  first  American  child  (Gregg 
Nichols,  who  was  born  in  April,  1851). 

The  corner  of  Third  and  Main  Streets  blos- 
somed into  brick  in  1852,  in  the  new,  proud, 
one-story  building,  serving,  in  1859,  as  tne 
home  of  Captain  Winfield  S.  Hancock,  who 
was  always  exceedingly  popular  in  Los  An- 
geles. He  revisited  the  city  a  few  years  before 
his  death,  and  received  an  enthusiastic  ovation. 

In  1849  San  Pedro  had  the  first  steamer, 
the  old  Gold  Hunter,  and  by  1859  the  Senator 


Los  Angeles  675 

made  three  monthly  trips.  There  was  now  a 
stage  line  to  San  Diego,  and  overland  stages 
left  for  the  East  three  times  a  week.  Fre- 
quent freight  trains  passed  between  the  city 
and  Salt  Lake,  but  it  was  not  until  the  coming 
of  the  several  railroads  that  Los  Angeles  at- 
tained its  phenomenal  growth  and  became  the 
great  city  of  the  Southwest.  Set  richly  be- 
tween the  sparkling  waves  of  the  Pacific  and 
the  jasper  heights  of  the  Sierra  Madre  Moun- 
tains, Los  Angeles  now  rests  in  its  fertile 
plains,  a  radiating  jewel,  its  suburbs  climbing 
the  bases  of  its  hills,  its  roads  ascending  canons, 
its  sparkling  beaches  curving  sharply  inward 
from  the  sea.  Its  clustered  cottages  are  sur- 
rounded with  trees  and  flowers,  which  bloom 
throughout  the  year  in  inconceivable  profu- 
sion. Its  streets  are  lined  with  graceful  pepper 
and  eucalyptus  trees,  its  palatial  homes  are 
set  amid  tropic  foliage,  its  hills  are  crowned 
with  public  institutions.  The  southern  por- 
tion of  the  city  is  level,  but  on  the  north  and 
south  are  hills.  Within  the  city  limits,  at  a 
level  of  three  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  may 
be  found  great  variety  of  location,  while  seven 
public  parks,  soon  to  be  united  by  boulevards, 
add  to  the  beauty  of  the  natural  scenery.  No 


676  Los  Angeles 

wonder  that  in  twenty  years  the  population 
has  grown  from  11,000  to  103,000 — increased 
during  the  winter  months  by  thousands  of 
tourists,  who  are  brought  easily  to  the  gates 
of  this  city  of  the  sunset  land.  Its  daring 
trolleys  mount  the  great  hills  from  rose  gar- 
den to  snowy  height,  its  railroads,  entering 
from  east  and  north,  bear  the  charmed  travel- 
ler through  sunny  ranches  of  olive  and  walnut 
tree,  through  great  vineyards  and  orange  or- 
chards ;  and  to  ships  entering  the  harbor  at 
San  Pedro  are  revealed  the  beauties  of  flower- 
swept  hills,  which  in  their  season  flaunt  their 
fields  of  yellow  poppy  toward  the  sea. 

The  saddest  event  in  the  history  of  modern 
Los  Angeles  was  the  land  boom,  which,  after 
first  enriching  and  then  ruining  many  inhabi- 
tants, collapsed  in  1889,  leaving  the  town 
prostrate.  The  rise  in  values  was  so  rapid 
that  a  corner  lot  costing  in  1851  thirty  dollars, 
and  worth  in  1860  $300  a  front  foot,  increased 
by  1870  to  $500  and  by  1880  to  $1,000  a  front 
foot.  In  1889  its  sale  was  pushed  to  $2,500. 
Other  lots  worth  in  1883  $20,  brought  in 
1889  $800  a  front  foot.  Lands  outside  the 
town,  worth  up  to  1868  $i  an  acre,  brought,  in 
1887,  $1,000. 


678  Los  Angeles 

The  effects  of  this  over-expansion  on  the 
young,  vigorous,  richly  dowered  community 
were,  however,  but  temporary ;  the  city  of  the 
Angels  arose  from  temporary  defeat  to  enter 
at  once  upon  an  era  of  growth  and  prosperity 
unexampled  in  the  history  of  cities,  and  all 
but.  magic  in  its  extent. 

A  dozen  lines  of  railroad  centre  in  the  city, 
whose  trade  extends  from  Fresno  on  the 
north  to  the  easternmost  limits  of  Arizona. 
Eighteen  years  ago  the  city  adopted  a  suc- 
cessful scheme  of  electric  lighting,  and  its 
trolley  system  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  United 
States.  For  the  last  decade  the  building 
trades  have  been  rapidly  growing.  Building 
permits  to  the  value  of  $23,000,000  have  been 
issued,  and  in  1900  alone  $2,700,000  was  in- 
vested in  new  buildings. 

The  city  has  200  miles  of  paved  streets, 
330  miles  of  sidewalks,  and  160  miles  of  sew- 
ers ;  but  its  complete  and  perfect  system  of 
irrigation  is  one  of  its  greatest  beauties.  The 
"  Zanjero  "  has  from  its  earliest  years  been  an 
important  municipal  functionary,  and  the  flow- 
ing of  well-kept  channels  of  fine  water,  in 
sparkling  zanjos  along  the  sides  of  the  prin- 
cipal streets,  adds  to  the  beauty  of  roads  and 


680  Los  Angeles 

grounds,  while  through  a  system  of  new  and 
beautiful  parks  the  visitor  can  obtain  some  of 
the  finest  views  in  the  world  by  simply  driving 
about  the  city. 

If  the  traveller  seek  the  suburbs  he  will 
drive  for  mile  after  mile  through  groves  of 
orange  and  lemon,  fig,  peach,  pear,  and  apricot 
orchards ;  he  will  see  on  one  side  of  the  town 
great  sweeps  of  almond  and  walnut  trees ;  on 
another,  ranches  planted  in  vineyard  and  olive. 
There  are,  perhaps,  three  million  fruit  trees 
growing  in  the  district,  half  of  which  are  in 
full  bearing.  The  land  bears,  too,  great  crops 
of  alfalfa,  which  in  fertile  places  is  cut  from 
three  to  six  times  a  year.  Oranges,  of  course, 
are  the  chief  export  ;  but  there  are,  besides, 
wine,  brandy,  wheat  and  barley,  sugar-cane, 
and  all  varieties  of  fresh  vegetables.  If  the 
tenderfoot  hear  that  Los  Angeles  corn  grows 
sometimes  to  a  height  of  twenty  feet,  that 
pumpkins  weighing  four  hundred  pounds  have 
been  raised,  or  even  that  holes  from  which 
beets  have  been  pulled  are  of  a  size  sufficient 
for  fence-posts,  he  need  not  doubt.  There 
are  three  large  beet- sugar  factories,  and  in  the 
county  $100,000  worth  of  olives,  and  more 
than  that  of  honey,  are  annually  produced. 


682  Los  Angeles 

The  population  of  the  city  is  cosmopolitan, 
as  may  be  known  from  the  fact  that,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  exceptionally  good  English  papers 
of  the  city,  organs  in  German,  French,  Span- 
ish, Italian,  Basque,  and  Chinese  are  issued. 
A  large  number  of  Chinese,  several  thousand, 
are  engaged  in  raising  vegetables  or  in  do- 
mestic labor  of  the  several  kinds.  As  in  all 
California  towns,  they  have  a  residence  sec- 
tion of  their  own,  and  are  quiet,  orderly,  reli- 
able, and  useful. 

Los  Angeles  is  a  city  of  churches,  and  its 
philanthropies  are  many  ;  its  educational  ad- 
vantages are  remarkably  good.  At  the  head 
of  a  noticeably  complete  system  of  training 
stands  the  University  of  Southern  California, 
which  opened  its  doors  in  1880,  with  Dn 
Bovard  as  President.  Its  College  of  Medi- 
cine is  a  well-equipped  institution,  and  its 
progress  is  identified  with  the  name  of  Dr. 
J.  P.  Widney.  An  exceptionally  fine  normal 
school  completes  the  training  given  by  the 
public-school  system,  with  its  high  schools 
and  fifty-five  grammar  schools,  all  housed  in 
buildings  which  might  be  the  pride  of  any 
community.  The  buildings  which  house  its 
free  library  system,  its  City  Hall,  and  its 


Los  Angeles 


683 


County  Court-House,  are  well  conceived  for 
their  several  purposes,  and  architecturally  of 
great  beauty. 

But   Los   Angeles   is  above   all   a  city   of 
homes  and  of  gardens.     The  mildness  of  the 


IMPROVED  HARBOR  OF  SAN  PEDRO,  PORT  OF  LOS  ANGELES- 

climate  permits  the  most  delicate  plants  and 
trees  to  flourish  throughout  the  winter.  Giant 
bananas,  fan-  and  date-palms  rise  above  the 
houses,  and  at  Christmas  are  seen  hedges  of 
callas,  geraniums  ten  feet  high,  heliotropes 
covering  whole  sides  of  houses,  and  such 
wealth  of  roses  and  orange  blossoms  as  baffles 
description. 


684  Los  Angeles 

A  feature  of  Los  Angeles  is  its  beautiful 
sea  beaches.  Easily  accessible  by  trolley  and 
by  rail,  Santa  Monica,  Redondo,  Long  Beach, 
and  San  Pedro  provide  unsurpassed  facili- 
ties to  the  citizens,  and  the  island  of  Santa 
Catalina,  twenty  miles  off  the  coast,  is  even 
more  attractive  —  a  seashore  resort  where 
bathing  is  a  comfortable  pastime  every  day 
in  the  year,  and  where  fishermen  find  delights 
unending. 

The  construction  of  the  Government  break- 
water at  San  Pedro  is  a  great  commercial 
enterprise  and  will  be  of  certain  benefit  to 
the  city,  which  will  thus  gain  a  larger  share 
of  the  increasing  trade  with  the  Orient. 
Three  million  dollars  have  been  appropriated 
for  deepening  the  water  over  the  bar,  so  that 
large  vessels  may  come  to  the  wharf.  Dry 
docks  and  fortifications  are  to  follow  ;  and  a 
new  railway,  with  its  terminal  at  San  Pedro, 
will  connect  Los  Angeles  with  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  open  to  trade  a  new  and  rich  sec- 
tion of  country  in  southern  Nevada  and  in 
Utah. 


INDEX 


Abbott,     Lieut.-Gov.,     at    Vin- 

cennes,  177,  178 
Abeel,  D.  K.,  389 
Abila,  Don  Enrique,  669 
Abraham,  Plains  of,  136 
Acadia,  colonizing  of,  88 
Accault,  Michael,  266 
Acts  of  1862  and  1863,  Congres- 
sional, 415 

Adams,  Henry,  quoted,  202 
Adams,  J.  Q.,  84,  116,  356 
Advertiser,  The  Kansas  City,  392 
Agency  City,  305 
Ailes,  Milton  E.,  on  Cincinnati, 

55-85 

Alameda,  California,  610 
Alamo,  the,  473 
Alar9on,  648 
Alaska,  547 
Albany,  92,  109,  196 
Aldrich,  Charles,  330 
Alexander,  David  W.,  672 
Allen,  Capt.  James,  306,  308 
Alta  California,  646,  649,  658 
Alvarado,  662,  663 
American  Bar  Association,  420 
American  Colonization  Society, 

356 
American    Fur    Company,   202, 

307,  352,  538 


American  Notes,  Dickens's,  246 
Analco,  459 

Anderson,  Jeremiah  G.,  319 
Andrews,  President  Israel  Ward, 

24 

Angelenos,  the,  661 

Antoinette,  Marie,  144 

Anza,  651 

Apache  Canon,  476 

Arapahoe  County,  442 

Archer,  Mr.,  quoted,  223 

Arguello,  580,  654,  664 

Arkansas,  Pike  goes  up  the, 
430 

Armel,  Olivier,  240 

Armijo,  Gov.,  468,  469,  472 

Armour  Institute,  229 

Arndt,  Charles  C.  P.,  246 

Ass  at  the  Cceur  d'Alene,  523, 
530 

Astor,  John  Jacob,  202,  351  ;  es- 
tablishes Astoria,  536-544 

Astoria,  colony  of,  536-544 

Astoria  quoted,  539 

Atchison,  Kansas,  385 

Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe 
Railroad,  386 

Atherton,  Gertrude,  615 

Auraria,  436 

Aurarians,  the,  425,  437 

Ayuntamiento,  the,  in  California, 
658  ff. 


685 


686 


Index 


B 


Bailey,  Dr.  John  R.,  140,  note 
Baker,  Col.  E.  D.,  defends  Cora, 

592 

Baker,  Jim,  434 
Baker,  R.  S.,  672 
Balboa,  616 

Baltimore,  founding  of,  88,  90 
Bancroft,  George,  quoted,  4 
Bancroft  Library,  613 
Barstow,  Wm.,  248-250 
Bartlett,  Washington,  581 
Bashford,  Coles,  248-250 
Bates  House,  166 
Bates,  Judge,  101-105 
Baugenon,  Marie,  337 
Beaubien,  Mark,  209 
Beaver,  the,  542 
Bee,   The  Omaha,  420 
Beecher,  H.  W.,  614 
Beechy   visits   Mission  Dolores, 

577 

Behring,  Capt.,  627 
Belcher     visits    San     Francisco 

Bay,  580 

Belle  Isle,  Detroit,  108,  in,  118 
Belmont,  236,  238 
Benavides,  453,  454,  456 
Ben  Hur  cited,  478 
Bent,   Gov.    Charles,    434,    468, 

473 

Benton,  U.  S.  Senator  T.  H.,  353 
Berger,  Pierre,  337 
Berkeley,  California,  610 
Bierce,  Ambrose,  615 
"  Big  Thunder,"  70 
Bird,  Capt.,  no 
Bissot,  172,  173 
Black  Hawk,  206,  236,  305,  357, 

358,  521 

Black-wood's  Magazine,  274 
Blaine,  Mrs.  Emmons,  230 
Blennerhassett,  Harman,  19-22 
Blennerhassett,    Mrs.     Harman, 

21 

Blennerhassett's  Island,  22 
"  Bloody  Island,"  353 


Bohemian  Club  of  San  Francisco, 
613 

Bolce,  Harold,  on  Spokane,  509- 
533;  on  Monterey,  617-644 

Bolles,  Peter,  220 

Bolton,  Sarah  Knowles,  51 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  617 

Bonhomme.  205 

Bonneville,  431,  432 

Boone,  Daniel,  63,  84,  in 

Boscana,  Geromino,  656 

Bottineau,  Pierre,  272 

Bourget,  Paul,  quoted,  278 

Bovard,  Dr.,  682 

Braddock,  338 

Bradstreet,  Col.,  relieves  De- 
troit, 109 

Brandt,  15,  61 

Brandywine,  battle  of  the,  5 

Brannan  and  The  San  Fran- 
cisco Star,  582 

Brazil,  Father,  324 

Brice,  Henry  W.,  380 

Bridger,  Col.  James,  434,  480 

Brier,  Rev.  J.  W.,  674 

British,  acquire  Canada,  175  ;  in 
the  Northwest,  173,  176,  184, 
190 

Brock,  Gen.,  Gov.  Hull  surren- 
ders to,  115 

Broderick,  duel  with  Terry,  596 

Broisbriant,  173 

Broughton,  Lieut.,  537,  539 

Brown  at  Omaha,  401 

Brown,  John,  318 

Bryant,  W.  C.,  quoted,  535 

Bucareli,  Antonio,  626-629 

Buchanan,  President,  orders 
troops  to  Utah,  494-499 

Buck,  Judge  Norman,  quoted, 
532 

Buckle  cited,  298 

Buell,  6 

Bull,  Ole,  288 

Bulletin,  The,  590 

Bunch  of  Grapes  Tavern,  2 

Bunker  Hill  Mine,  532 

Burlington,  Iowa,  322 


Index 


687 


Burns  quoted,  HI 

Burr,  Aaron,  20,  195,  349 

Burr,  Theodosia,  21 

Burt,  Gov.  Francis  H.,  410 

Butler,  Gen.  Wm.  G.,  410 

Byers,  Wm.  N.,  437,  439 


Cabots,  claims  of  the,  570 

Cabrillo,  572,  648 

Cadillac   founds  Detroit,  88-91, 

134 

Cahokia,  339,  344 
Calhoun,  Gov.  James  S.,  476 
Calhoun,  John  C.,  quoted,  311 
California,    195,    401  ;    see    also   \ 

San  Francisco,  Monterey,  Los 

Angeles 

Cameron,  Simon,  321 
Campbell,  Robt.,  395 
Camp  Floyd,  498 
Camp  Morton,  158 
Campus  Martius  at  Marietta,  8, 

14,  28 

Canada,  134,  175,  176 
Canadians,  attack  St.  Louis,  343; 

on  the  Willamette,  550 
Canal,  Illinois  &  Michigan,  198, 

213 ;    the   Chicago    Drainage, 

332  ;  the  Isthmian,  332 
Canby     defeated    at    Valverde, 

476 

Canterbury,  Conn.,  39 
Cape  Nome,  363 
Cape  Reyes,  572 
Capilla  de  los  Soldados,  454 
Carillo,  Jose,  660,  662,  665 
Carlyle,  Thos.,  cited,  42 
Carmel,  619,  626,  627,  630,  639 
Carnegie,  Andrew,  614 
Carr,  Dabney,  628 
Carson,  Kit,  432,  434,  468,  476, 

667 

Carson,  Moses,  660 
Carver,  Capt.  Jonathan,  266 
Gary,  Alice,  72 
Cary,  Phcebe,  72 


Case,  Theodore,  quoted,  390 

Casey,  James,  590 

Cass,  Gen.,  105,  202 

Castro,  Jose,  665^". 

Centinel  of  the  Nort Invest  Terri- 
tory, 71 

Central  Pacific  Railway,  500,  596 

Chambers,  Gov.  John,  305 

Chamita,  452 

Champlain,  128 

Chandler,  U.  S.  Senator,  at  De- 
troit, 92 

Chapman,  W.  W.,  554 

Charles  II.,  40 

Charles  III.,  643 

Chase,  Dr.  Horace,   quoted,  214 

Chase,  S.  P.,  at  Cincinnati,  72 

Chautauqua,  the  Western,  637 

Checagau,  see  Chicago 

Cheney,  John  Vance,  615 

Cherry  creek,  436 

Chesnutt,  Chas.  W.,  51 

Cheyenne,  Union  Pacific  reaches, 
442 

Chicago,  368 ;  Lyman  J.  Gage 
on,  197-234;  the  situation, 
197-200 ;  Indian  denizens  of 
the  region,  200;  the  Fort  Dear- 
born massacre,  201;  purchased 
from  the  Indians,  202-204; 
first  settlers,  204-207;  incor- 
poration of,  208;  early  hard- 
ships, 210-213,  220;  booms, 
213-218 ;  stock-yards,  222 ; 
the  great  fire,  223-227;  the 
World's  Fair,  228  ;  an  educa- 
tional centre,  229-232  ;  civic 
and  religious  growth,  232-234. 

Chicago  and  Northwestern  Rail- 
road, 415 

Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy 
Railroad,  386 

Chick,  W.  M.,  395 

Chihuahua,  460,  467 

China,  exports  to,  513 

Chinese  in  San  Francisco,  600- 
606 

Chip-kaw-kay,  172,  173 


688 


Index 


Choteau,  468 

Chouteau,  338 

Cilly,  Durant,  659 

Cincinnati,  M.  E.  Ailes  on, 
55-85;  settling  of,  55-57;  the 
first  name,  58-60 ;  location 
of  Fort  Washington,  60;  de- 
feat of  St.  Clair,  60-62  ;  stra- 
tegic point,  62;  its  pre-history, 
63;  victory  of  Wayne,  68-71; 
isolation,  71;  the  press  of,  72; 
music  in,  72-74;  industries  of, 
75;  in  the  Civil  War,  78;  pan- 
orama of,  80-85 

Civil  War,  78,  92,  243,  250,  316, 
321,  323,  354,  386,  476 

Claim  Clubs  of  Iowa,  310-313 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  63,  82, 
167,  194,  510;  story  of, 
178-191 

Clark,  Lewis  and,  see  Lewis  and 
Clark 

Clay,  Henry,  356;  at  Cincinnati, 
84;  quoted,  311 

Cleveland,  C.  F.  Thwing  on, 
31-53;  character  of,  31-39; 
founder  of,  39;  growth  of,  41; 
population  of,  41-43;  gener- 
osity of,  43-46;  clubs,  46; 
civic  spirit  in,  47;  distinguished 
citizens,  47-53 

Cleveland,  Moses,  founds  Cleve- 
land, 39 

Cceur  d'Alene,  510;    mines,  530 

Coeur  d'Alenes,  523,  524 

Coffin,  Stephen,  554 

Colbert,  Mr.,  quoted,  210 

Coldvvater,  214 

Cole,  Thos.  L.,  on  Portland, 
535-568 

Coleman,  W.  T.,  and  the  vigi- 
lance committees,  591,  594, 
600 

Colfax,  Vice-President,  167 

Coligny,  88 

Collyer,  Rev.  Robert,  quoted,  199 

Columbia,  Lewis  and  Clark  reach 
the,  430  ;  see  Portland 


Columbia  Rediviva,  537 
Colville,  518 

"  Commonweal  Armies,"  317 
Comstock  Lode,  597 
Concepcion,  Dona,  580 
Concord  coach,  the  old,  384 
Conejos,  Pike  on  the,  430 
Confederates    in    New    Mexico, 

476 

Congress,  authorizes  laying  out 
o  f  Detroit,  102;  authorizes 
constitution  for  Indiana,  150; 
and  the  Vigo  claims,  190;  and 
the  Union  Pacific  Railway, 

415 

Connecticut  Land  Company,  40 
Cook,  Capt.,  627 
Cooke,  Jay,  521 
Cookie,  M.,  at  Marietta,  13 
Cooper  &  Peck,  532 
Coppoc,  Barclay,  319,  320 
Coppoc,  Edwin,  319,  320 
Cora  and  the  Vigilantes,  591 
Cornell,  Ezra,  413 
Coronado,  428,  434,  449 
Coronel,  Don  Antonio,  672 
Coronel,  Don  Ignacio,  672 
Cortes,  Hernan,  449 
Corydon,  Indiana,  154,  193 
Couch,  Capt.  John  H.,  558 
Couch  &  Co.,  558 
Coues,  Dr.  E.,  cited,  302 
Council  Bluffs,  401,  402,  406, 407 
Couts,  Col.,  672 
Covington,  Kentucky,  73 
Coyote,  512,   513 
Creighton,  Edward,  412,  413 
Creighton,  John  A.,  413,  420 
Creighton   Medical  School,   413 
Creighton    Memorial     Hospital, 

413 

Crespi,  Padre,  651 
Crimean  War,  274 
Crocker,  Gen.  M.  M.,  321 
Croghan,  Col.,  142 
Cruzado,  651 
Cruzat,  Francisco,  344 
Cuba,  340 


Index 


689 


Culture's  Garland,  229 
Cuming,  Gov.  Thos.  B.,  410 
Gushing,  Caleb,  273 
Gushing,  Mayor,  6,  n 
Gushing,  Nabby,  death  of,  n 
Cutler,  Manasseh,  at  Marietta,  4, 
6,  10 


D 


d'Abadie,  335 

de  Aberini,  Don  Pedro,  quoted, 
578 

Daily  Kansas  City  Post,  390 

Dalyell,  Captain,  108 

Dana,  J.  C.,  on  Denver,  425-447 

Daniels  quoted,  I 

Danube,  the,  660 

Danvers  and  the  Ohio  Colony, 
7,8 

Dauphin,  the,  144 

Davis,  Jefferson,  305 

Dawn,  The  Santa  Fe,  470 

Deady,  Judge,  564,  567;  quoted, 
553,  562 

Dearborn,  Gen.  H.  A.,  116 

De  Bellerive,  335-338,  341,  342 

Declaration  of  Independence,  2 

de  Gallup,  Francois,  627 

de  Galvaez,  Jose,  572 

de  Joinville,  Prince,  144,  304 

de  Leyba,  342 

de  Mofras,  580 

de  Monterey,  Count,  622 

Denver,  528  ;  J.  C.  Dana  on, 
425-447;  historic  background, 
425-434:  origin  of,  435~437; 
the  Pike's  Peak  excitement, 
437;  before  the  Union  Pacific, 
438-442;  the  first  governor, 
442;  character  of,  444-447 

De  Peyster,  Col.  A.  S.,  in 

Deseret,  490,  491 

Desert,  Great  American,  431 

Des  Grosselliers,  129 

Des  Moines,  F.  I.  Herriott  on, 
301-330;  the  name,  302;  or- 
igin of,  302;  emigration,  304; 


the  fort,  306-308;  the  Land 
Club,  309-313;  the  first  gov- 
ernment, 313;  the  early  life 
described,  313-316;  river  im- 
provements, 316-318;  attitude 
toward  slavery,  318-320;  in  the 
Civil  War,  320-322;  removal 
of  the  capital  to,  322;  the  new 
capital  building,  323-326;  the 
present  city,  326—330 

de  Taos,  Fernandez,  473 

Detroit,  177,  180,  183,  201, 
214;  Silas  Farmer  on,  87-119; 
early  travellers  to,  87;  motive 
for  settling,  88;  Cadillac 
founds,  90;  ever  cosmopolitan, 
92;  extension  of  limits,  94; 
acquires  fort  from  Congress, 
95;  sells  lots,  96;  flush  times, 
98-100;  the  great  fire,  100; 
government  under  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1787,  101-106;  Pon- 
tiac's  conspiracy,  106-109;  >n 
the  Revolution,  109-112;  in 
recent  times,  \\iff. 

De  Ulloa,  Francisco,  648 

Devol,  6 

Dey,  Peter  A.,  326,  415 

Dickens  cited,  246 

Dodge,  Gov.  Henry,  236 

Dodson,  Jacob,  669 

Dollier,  88 

Dolly,  the,  540 

Domingues,  Don  Jose,  655 

Donnelly,   Father  Bernard,  382, 

394 

Doty,  Rev.  Daniel,  74 
Doty,    James,    names    Madison, 

Wisconsin,  238,  239 
Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  at  Chicago, 

214 

Downey,  Gov.,  672 
Drake,  Francis,  572,  574 
Drummond,  Henry,  494 
Drury  &  Co.,  R.  B.,  392 
Du  Gay,  266 

D'Ulloa,  Don  Antonio,  337 
Durant,  Thos.  C.,  416 


690 


Index 


Durham,  Nelson,  quoted,  510 
Dutch  and  negro  slavery,  92 
Dyar,  M.  C.,  on  Marietta,  1-30 


E 


Earl  of  Selkirk,  268 

Earthquake,  New  Madrid,  350 

East  End,  London's,  43 

Echeandia,  662 

Echo  Canon,  496 

Eden  Park,  Cincinnati,  80 

Elba,   Napoleon's   escape  from, 

635 

El  Crepusculo,  470 
El  Dorado,  583 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  572 
Elliott,  C.   B.,   on   Minneapolis 

and  St.  Paul,  265-300 
El  Morro,  452 
El  Paso,  462 
Emerson  quoted,  43,  640 
Emma  Preston,  the,  558 
Emory,  Capt.  W.  H.,  472 
England,     Gosnold's    tour    for, 

572  ;    sends    Belcher   to    San 

Francisco  Bay,  580 
English  at  St.  Louis,  343 
Enterprise,    The    Kansas    City, 

389 

Epworth  League,  39 
Erie  Canal,  98 
Escalante,  434 
Etherington,  Major,  138 
Eulalia,  Dona,  643 
Eustis,  U.  S.  Secretary  of  War, 

116 

Evans,  W.  B.,  395 
Evanston,  Illinois,  230 
Evening  Mail,  The  Kansas  City, 

392. 
Evening     World,     The    Kansas 

City,  394 
Exposition,  of  1898  at    Omaha, 

420-423  ;  St.  Louis,  373 


Pages,  655 


Fallen  Timbers,  battle  of,  68 

Farmer,  Silas,  on  Detroit, 
87-119 

Farnum,  Col.  Russell,  351 

Farragut,  Commodore,  592 

Federals  in  New  Mexico,  476 

Felix,  656 

Fernandez,  the  Canonigo,  633 

Ferry,  U.  S.  Senator,  125 

Field,  Eugene,  229 

Figueroa,  Gov.,  579,  663 

Filson  and  settling  of  Cincin- 
nati, 58 

Finkbine,  Robert  S.,  326 

Fjelde's  statue  of  Ole  Bull,  288 

Flanders,  Capt.,  558 

Flemming,  313 

Florence,  Mormon  settlement  of, 
409 

Flores,  667 

Fond  du  Lac,  238 

Foote,  John  G.,  326 

Forster,  John,  665 

Forts  :  Bridger,  432,  496  ;  Cal- 
houn,  406  ;  Chartres,  176,  177, 
335 ;  Crawford,  235  ;  Dear- 
born, 201,  202  ;  Des  Moines, 
304,  306,  313 ;  George,  544, 
546 ;  Harmar,  8 ;  Leaven- 
worth,  471  ;  Lernoult,  112  ; 
Marcy,  472  ;  Miamis,  176,  178; 
Michilimackinac,  132,  138, 
140 ;  Patrick  Henry,  190 ; 
Pontchartrain,  106  ;  Sackville, 
178,  183,  189,  190;  St.  An- 
thony, 268  ;  Snelling,  268  ; 
Sumter,  321  ;  Union,  476 ; 
Vancouver,  544  ;  Washington, 
60,  62,  74 ;  William,  544 ; 
Winnebago,  235 

Foster,  H.  C.,  672 

Foster,  Stephen  G.,  670 

France,  and  the  Northwest,  129, 
169,  172,  174,  189,  266;  and 
the  Southwest,  67,  333-335, 
343,  466  ;  and  California,  572, 
580,  627 

Francesca,  581 


Index 


691 


Franciscans,  in  New  Mexico, 
453  ;  in  California,  573,  632, 
650 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  614 
Fremont,    432,     549 ;     in    Cali- 
fornia, 580,  635,  665^". 
Fremont  Peak,  640 
French   and    Indian   War,    106, 

136 
French's  statue  of  Gov.  Pillsbury, 

288 

Frontenac,  Count,  quoted,  91 
Fulton  and  the  steamboat,  76 
Fur  traders,  Russian,  572 


Gabilan  Mountains,  635 

Gage,  Gen.,  and  Detroit,  109; 
and  Vincennes,  176 

Gage,  Lyman  J.,  on  Chicago, 
197-234 

Galena  &  Chicago  Union  Rail- 
road, 222 

Galena  deposits  discovered  in 
Idaho,  523^". 

Galinee,  88 

Galisteo,  the  Taos  of,  461 

Gallipolis,  12 

Garfield,  Pres't  J.  A.,  52,  82 

Gate,  the  Golden,  569,  570,  574, 
579,  596,  619,  632 

Gayarre  on  Cadillac,  90 

Geary  Law  of  1892,  602 

George  III.,  no,  114,  136,  140, 
628 

George  IV.,  537 

George,  Henry,  614 

Ghent,  Treaty  of,  544 

Gibault,  Father,  183 

Gibson,  Gen.  John,  192 

Giddings,  Rev.  Solomon,  356 

Gillespie  at  Los  Angeles,  666 

Gillis,  Wm.,  380,  395 

Gilman,  Charlotte  Perkins,  615 

Gilpin,  Wm..  442 

Gladwin  and  Pontiac,  107 


Gleed,   C.   S.,  on   Kansas  City, 

375-399 

Gold  Hunter,  the,  674 

Gold  in  California,  see  San  Fran- 
cisco ;  in  Colorado,  436-438 

Gonzales,  Gov.  Jose,  468 

Gosnold,  572 

Grant,  Gen.  U.  S.,  84,  92,  321, 
366,  567 

Grant,  Mayor  Jedediah  M.,  491 

Gray,  Asa,  quoted,  31 

Gray,  Capt.,  537,  538 

Great  American  Desert,  484 

Great  Britain,  cedes  Mackinac 
to  U.  S.,  140;  Illinois  coun- 
try ceded  to,  333;  see  Portland 

Great  Salt  Lake,  479,  480 

Greeley,  Horace,  72,  243 ; 
quoted,  438 

Green  Bay,   144,  145,  235,  238, 

239 
Griffin,  Judge,  at  Detroit,   101- 

105 

Griffin,  the,  134 
Grimes,  Gov.  James  W.,  318 
Gronigen,  John,  660 
Guadalajara,  629 
Guadaloupe  Hidalgo,  treaty  of, 

489-  595 

Guadab'pe,  Mission  of,  461 
Cue,  B.  F.,  320 
Gwin,  Senatorial  contest  of  with 

Broderick,  596 

H 

Hackleman,  Gen.  P.  A.,  167 
Half -Moon,  the,  536 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  322 
Hamilton,  Col.  Henry,  185,  186, 

189,  190 

Hamline  University,  294 
Hancock,  Gen.  W.  S.,  674 
Hanks,  Lieut.  Porter,  141 
Hannibal  &  St.  Joseph  Railroad, 

386 

Hanson,  Rev.  Mr.,  cited,  144 
Harmar,  defeat  of,  60,  66-68 


692 


Index 


Harmon,  Dr.  Elijah  D.,  205 
Harper,  Pres't  W.  R  ,  229,  230 
Harper's    Ferry,    recapture    of, 

319 

Harrison,  Gen.  W.  H.,  70,  167, 
192,  349,  521 

Harrison,    President    Benjamin, 
153,  156,  167 

Harte,  Bret,  614 

Hartford  and  the  Ohio  Colony,  7 

Hartzell,  Thomas,  205 

Harvard  University,  37 

Hawaii,  195,  547 

Haydn  Society  in  Cincinnati,  74 

Hay,  John,  50 

Hayes,  Benjamin,  660 

Hayes,  President  R.  B.,  52,  72 

Haymarket  riots,  224 

Hearst,  Mrs.  Phoebe  D.,  610 

Heath,   Perry  S.,  on    Indianap- 
olis, 147-167 

Helm,  Capt.  Leonard,  184,  185 

Hendricks,  Vice-President,  167 

Hennepin,  134,  265,  268 

Henry,  Alexander,  140 

Henry,  Patrick,  180,  628 

Herald,  New  York,  386 

Herriott,     Frank     I.,    on     Des 
Moines,  301-330 

Herron,  John,  166 

Hiawatha,  125 

Hill,  J.  J.,  287 

Hittell  cited,  639 

Hodge,   F.    W.,  on   Santa   Fe, 
449-478 

Holmes,  Major.  142 

Honen,  Toussaint,  337 

Horace  quoted,  30 

Hosmer,  Dr.  J.  K.,  285 

Houston,  Sam,  362 
Howells,  W.  D.,  72,  229 
Hudson  Bay  Co.,  335,  518,  546, 

549.  552 

Hudson,  Henry,  536 
Hull,  A.   F.,  101-105,   114-116, 

138 
"  Hundred  Associates,"  charter 

of  the,  89 


Hunt,  W.    P.,   at    Astoria,  540, 
542 


Idaho,  galena  mines  of,  522, 
532 

Illinois  country  ceded  to  Great 
Britain,  333 

Independence,  Missouri,  394, 
467 

Indiana,  see  Indianapolis  and 
Vincennes 

Indianapolis,  Perry  S.  Heath  on, 
147-167  ;  plan  of,  147  ;  growth 
of,  147  ;  background  of,  149— 
153  ;  becomes  capital  of  In- 
diana, 154  ;  modern  history, 
154-157  ;  in  the  Civil  War, 
158;  parks,  160;  finances  and 
industries,  164  ;  clubs  and  in- 
stitutions, 166 

Indians  :  Algonquins,  302  ;  Ara- 
pahoes,  426,  432  ;  Cayuse,  556  ; 
Cherokees,  436 ;  Chippewas, 
138,  200,  236  ;  Cceur  d'Alenes, 
520;  Flatheads,  510;  Foxes, 
304,  306,  350,  358;  Hu- 
rons,  133  ;  lowas,  351  ;  Iro- 
quois,  55  ;  Keokuks,  305  ; 
Kickapoos,  202 ;  Menomonies, 
202,  236;  Miamis,  55,  170; 
Minneways,  200 ;  Mohawks, 
6l  ;  Navahoes,  427 ;  Nez 
Perces,  510;  Omahas,  351; 
Osages,  342,  350 ;  Ottawas, 
133,  337;  Ottoes,  405;  Palouse, 
520  ;  Pawnees,  405  ;  Pi-ank-a- 
shaws,  170,  171,  174;  Potta- 
watomies,  172,  200,  202,  204, 
236  ;  Pueblos,  456, 468  ;  Sacs, 
138,  200,  304,  306,  350,  358  ; 
Senecas,  55  ;  Shawnees,  55, 
172,  342  ;  Sioux,  267  ;  Si- 
wash,  528  ;  Six  Nations,  68, 
170  ;  Spokanes,  510-518  ; 
Taos,  468,  473  ;  T  wight  wees, 
17"!,  172;  Umatillas,  510; 


Index 


693 


Indians — Continued. 

Walla  Wallas,  510;  Weas, 
171;  Winnebagoes,  236;  Yank- 
tons,  351  ;  see  also  abstracts 
of  various  chapters 

Iowa,  see  Des  Moines 

Iowa  City,  313 

Ipswich,  Ohio  colony  starts 
from,  6,  8 

Irving  quoted,  432,  539 

Isabel,  Onate  marries,  449 

J 

Jackson,  Andrew,  84,  356 ;  bank 
veto  of,  358 

Jackson,  Gov.  Claiborne,  quoted, 
366 

Jackson,  Helen  Hunt,  674 

Janney,  T.  B.,  287 

Japan,  Spokane  exports  to,  513 

Jefferson  Territory,  442 

Jefferson,  President  Thomas, 
1 16,  510,  539,  628 

Jesuits,  134  ;  at  Mackinac,  129  ; 
in  Missouri,  381  ;  in  Cali- 
fornia, 650 

Jobe,  Henry,  395 

Johnson,  Gov.,  591-593 

Johnson,  Sir  Guy,  61 

Joliet,  88,  133,  198,  302 

Jones,  Alfred  D.,  lays  out  site 
for  Omaha,  402 

Jones,  Commodore,  635 

Jordan,  James  C.,  318 

Jornada  del  Muerto,  450 

Joseph,  Chief,  517,  521 

Journal,  The  Kansas  City,  389 

Juchereau,  171,  note 

Junipero  Serra  in  California, 
573.  6i7.  619,  624,  625,  629, 
632,  633,  635,  637,  638,  640, 
646,  649 

K 

Kane,  Col.  Thos.  B.,  496 
Kane,  Col.  T.  L.,  406 
Kanesville,  Nebraska,  406,  407 


Kansas  City,  C.  S.  Gleed  on, 
375-399:  location,  375~378  ; 
origin,  378-380 ;  early  deni- 
zens of  the  region,  380-382  ; 
trade  and  transportation,  382- 
386  ;  railroads  entering,  386- 
389  ;  newspapers  of,  389-394  ; 
real  estate  history,  394 ; 
churches,  395  ;  industries,  396- 
398  ;  other  interests,  398 

Kansas,  Coronado  in,  428 

Kansas  Pacific  Railway,  388, 
442 

Kaskaskia,  180-183,  185,  186, 
344,  466 

Kasson,  Hon.  John  A.,  324 

"  Kaw,"  the,  375,  382 

Kearny,  Dennis,  601 

Kearny,  S.  W.,  306,  432,  470- 
473,  667  ff. 

Keating,  Prof.  Wm.  H.,  quoted, 
212 

Keith,  Wm.,  615 

Ke-ki-on-ga,  172 

Kelley,  "  General,"  317 

Kennedy,  Thomas,  73 

Kentucky,  67,  178  ;  Filson  in, 
58  ;  Spanish  intrigues  in,  180 

Keokuk,  308 

Kerfoot,  W.  D.,  227 

Khalifa,  518 

Khartoum,  518 

Kimberley,  E.  S.,  209 

King,  James,  590 

King,  Thos.  Starr,  614 

Kinzie,  John,  206 

Kinzie,  Mrs.,  quoted,  205 

Kinzie,  Robert,  214 

Kirkwood,  Gov.  S.  J.,  320,  321 

Klondike,  the,  363 

Kountze,  Herman,  420 

Kuro  Sirva,  637 


Labrador,  570 

Laclede     Liguest      founds      St. 
Louis,  333-335 


694 


Index 


Lafayette,  at  Marietta,  5  ;  at  St. 

Louis,  356,  363 
La  Honton,  134 
Lake    Erie,   36 ;    see   also,    238, 

note 

Lake  Mary,  18 
Lalande.  468 
Lamar,  President,  469 
Lamy,  Bishop,  474 
Land  Claims  Association,  309 
Land  Club,  Iowa,  309 
Land  League,  Iowa,  309 
La  Salle,  88,  134,  171,  266,  302, 

334 

Latimer,  Mrs.  E.  W.,  144 
Latour,  Francis,  337 
"  Latter-day    Saints,"    see    Salt 

Lake  City 
Law-and-Order    Party,    see   San 

Francisco 

Lawrence,  Kansas,  436 
Lawton,  Gen.  H.  W.,  167 
Leadville,  Colorado,  438 
Leavenworth,  268,  385 
Ledger,  7^he  Kansas,  389 
Lee,  Jason,  550 
Lee,  Lieut.  R.  E.,  319 
Le  Grace,  Colonel,  191 
Le  Griffon,  88 
Legroux,  282 
Le  Large,  202 

L'Enfant,  Pierre  Charles,  147 
Lernoult,  Maj.  R.  R.,  114,  note 
Letcher,  Gov. ,  320 
Lewis  and  Clark,  348,  404,  430, 

434,  5io,  538,  539 
Lewis,  Capt.  Meriwether,  349 
Lexington,  battle  of,  71 
Leyba,  343 
Liberia,  357 
Lick,  James,  612 
Liguest,  Pierre  Laclede,  333 
Limestone,  on  the  Ohio,  55 
Lincoln,  A.,  158,  324,  366 
Lincoln,  Nebraska,  412 
Little  Turtle,  68 
Logan,  192 
Long,  expedition  of,  430,  431 


Long,  Major,  quoted,  267 

Loreto,  622,  651 

Los  Angeles,  Florence  E.  Wins- 
low  on,  645-684;  early  visitors, 
645-649  ;  Junipero  Serra,  649— 
651;  settling  of,  651-659  ;  first 
Americans  in,  659-661  ;  early 
trials  of,  661-665  ;  taken  by 
United  States,  665-668;  the 
American  regime,  668-676 ; 
the  land  boom,  676-678  ;  the 
city  to-day,  678-684 

Losantiville,  58,  61 

Louis  XIII.,  128 

Louis  XIV.,  133 

Louis  XV.,  136 

Louis  XVI.,  144,  627 

Louis  Philippe,  13,  144,  304 

Louisiana    Purchase,    191,    195, 

33i,  348,  373,  618 
Lounsbury,  Daniel,  554 
Lovejoy,  A.  L.,  535,  554 
Lovejoy,  Elijah  P.,  362 
Lucas,  Charles,  353 
Lytle,  Gen.  Wm.  H.,  72 

M 

Macallister  College,  294 

McArthur,  Lieut. -Gov.,  249,  250 

McCoy,  J.  C.,  395 

McCoy,  Rev.  Isaac,  382 

McDougal,  540,  542,  543 

McDowell,  360 

McGee,  Fry  P.,  395 

McGee,  James  H.,  394 

Mackinac,  Sara  Andrew  Shafer 
on,  121-145  ;  situation,  121- 
124  ;  description  of,  124-128  ; 
first  explorers  and  mission- 
aries, 128-130;  Marquette  and 
La  Salle,  130-134  ;  Pontiac's 
conspiracy,  136-140 ;  comes 
into  possession  of  United 
States.  140;  War  of  1812,  140- 
142  ;  the  fur  trade,  142  ;  Rev. 
Eleazar  Williams,  144 

Mackinaw,  90 


Index 


695 


McKinley,  Pres't  Wm.,  52,  422 

McLean  at  Cincinnati,  74 

McLeon,  Gen.,  469 

McLoughlin,  Dr.  John,  in  Ore- 
gon, 544-553 

McTavish,  543 

Madison,  President  James,  116 

Madison,  R.  G.  Thwaites  on, 
235-264;  before  the  settlement, 
235—238  ;  choosing  a  State 
capital,  238  ;  laying  out  the 
town,  240  ;  the  first  dwelling, 
240;  coming  of  the  Legislature, 
242;  early  description  of,  242; 
slow  growth,  243  ;  attempts  to 
remove  the  capital,  245  ;  early 
legislative  sessions,  246  ;  the 
Barstow-Bashford  case,  248- 
250;  the  State  House,  250;  the 
State  university,  252-260 ;  the 
city  to-day,  260-264 

Madrid,  626,  629 

Majorca,  635 

Maiden  in  War  of  1812,  114 

Manderson,  C.  F.,  420 

Marcy,  march  of,  432 

Marcy,  Secretary  Wm.  L.,  472 

Mare  Island,  592 

Margane,  Francois,  163 

Marie  Antoinette,  8 

Marietta,  58,  71  ;  Muriel  Camp- 
bell Dyar  on,  1-30 ;  Ohio 
Company  formed,  2 ;  the  col- 
ony, 4-6  ;  the  journey,  7  ;  the 
first  summer  on  the  Ohio,  8 ; 
the  first  governor,  10 ;  the 
coming  of  the  Frenchmen,  u— 
13  ;  hardships,  13  ;  Indian 
wars,  14-18  ;  material  pros- 
perity, 1 8  ;  the  Blennerhassett 
tragedy,  20-22 ;  the  modern 
Marietta,  22;  the  College,  24— 
26;  the  Mound  Cemetery,  26- 
28  ;  relics,  28  /. 

Marin  del  Valle,  454 

Markham,  Edwin,  on  San  Fran- 
cisco, 569-616 

Marquette,  132-134,  302,  333 


Marsh's  trading  post,  214 
Martineau,  Harriet,  78 
Mary  Institute,  St.  Louis,  360 
Maryland,  the,  558 
Mason,  Gov.,  670 
Mason,  Stevens  T.,  238 
Mayflower,  the,  88,  620 
Mayflower,  the  new,  i,  7 
Meigs,  Gov.  R.  J.,  6,  28 
Menard,  Pierre,  205 
Merrill,  Samuel,  152 
Methodists    on  the  Willamette, 

550 

Meurin,  Father,  193 
Mexico,  and  California,  572,  578, 
626,    633,    658 ;    and    Kansas 
City  trade,  385;  war  with,  27, 
362,  432 

Miami  and  Erie  Canal,  82 
Micheltorena,  664,  665 
Michigan  Territory,  235 
Michilimackinac,  124,  136 
Michsawgyenan,  122 
Miles,  Gen.,  517 
Millard,  Joseph  H.,  420 
Miller,  Joaquin,  614 
Miller's  Hill,  Nebraska,  406 
Milwaukee,  202,  214, 238, 239, 245 
Mineral  Point,  236,  238 
Minisink,  massacre  of,  61 
Minneapolis — St.  Paul,  C.  B.  El- 
liott on,  265-300 ;  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony  discovered,  265;  title 
to  the  region  passes  from  the 
Indians,    267  ;    Fort   Snelling 
established,  268;  first  settler  on 
site  of  St.  Paul,  270 ;  St.  Paul 
becomes    State   capital,    271  ; 
growth  of  the  rival  town,  272- 
276  ;  the  two  cities  compared, 
276-300 

Minnehaha,  falls  of,  290 
Mission  Dolores,  574-579,  632 
Missouri,  see  St.  Louis  and  Kan- 
sas City 

Missouri  Compromise,  353 
Missouri  Pacific    Railroad,   386, 
398 


696 


Index 


Mobile,  90 
Montcalm,  338 

Monterey,  450,  574,  581,  669 ; 
Harold  Bolce  on,  617-644;  his- 
toric background,  617-620  ; 
Vizcaino  finds  the  harbor,  620; 
rediscovered  by  Junipero 
Serra,  622-626  ;  his  great  ser- 
vices, 626-628 ;  Spain  sends 
relief,  629 ;  the  Spanish  capi- 
tal, 630-634  ;  a  visit  to,  635- 
644 

Montezuma,  450 
Montgomery,  Capt.,  581 
Mormon,    Book  of,  quoted,  490 
Mormons,  in  Nebraska,  406-409; 
in  Colorado,  425,  432;  in  Utah, 
435;  see  also  Salt  Lake  City 
Morrison,  Wm.,  466 
Morse,  S.  F.  B.,  125 
Morton,  Oliver  P.,  158,  167 
Moultons,  the,  at  Marietta,  16 
Mound  Builders,  26,  63,  169,  302 
Mount  Auburn.  Cincinnati,  82 
Mullanphy,  John,  360 
Munford,  Munford  &  Hasbrook, 
392 

N 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  617,  635 

Natalia,  the,  635 

Nebraska  &  Council  Bluffs  Ferry 

Co.,  401 

Nebraska  Territory,  403 
Nelson,  W.  R.,  392 
Neve,  Gov.,  652 
New  Albion,  572 
Newburyport,  Mass.,  558 
New  Mexican,  the,  474 
New  Mexico,  see  Santa  Fe 
New  Orleans,  76,  333,  340,  344, 

346,  347 
New  Spain,  572 
New  York,  43,  71,  75,  514 
News,  The  Kansas  City,  392 
News,    The    Rocky    Mountain, 

437,  439 
Niagara,  108,  528 


Nichols,  Gregg,  674 
Nichols,  Col.  J.  G.,  674 
Nicolet,  Jean,  visits  Mackinac, 

128 

Nicollet,  302 
Nito,  Manuel,  654 
North  American  Fur  Company, 

350 

North  Bend,  settling  of,  58 
Northrup,  H.  M.,  394 
Northwest  Company,  540 
Northwest   Fur  Company,    510, 

538 

Northwest  Territory,  I,  10 
Northwestern    University,    229, 

230 
Nye,  6 

O 

Oakinagen,  542 
Oakland,  California,  610 
Observer,   The  St.  Louis,  362 
O'Fallon  Park,  369 
Ohio  Company,  the,  2-4,  27,  101 
Oliphant,  Laurence,  quoted,  273 
Omaha,  462  ;  Victor  Rosewater 
on,  401-423 ;  origin,  401-403 ; 
location,  404 ;   visit  of  Lewis 
and  Clark,  404-406  ;  Mormon 
encampment  at,  406-409;  early 
government,  409-412  ;  the  Pa- 
cific Telegraph,  412-414 ;   the 
Union  Pacific    Railway,   414- 
418  ;  recent  history,  418-420  ; 
the  Trans- Mississippi  Exposi- 
tion of  1898,  420-423 
Ofiate   founds    Santa   Fe,   449- 

453 
Ordinance  of  1787,  2,  4,  10,  101, 

191 

Oregon,  see  Portland 
Oregon  City,  535,  549~554 
Oregonian,   The,  558,  566 
O'Reilly,  Don  Alexander,  338 
O'Rourke,  Phil.,  532 
Osceola,  22 1 
Osio,  Antonio,  661 
Otermin,  Gov.,  459 


Index 


697 


Oumetz,  Padre,  654 
Outre  Mer  quoted,  278 
"Overland  Mail  Express  Com- 
pany," 385 

Overland  Monthly,  614 
Overland  Telegraph  Line,  499 
Overton,  A.  M.,  535,  554 


Pacific  Fur  Company,  538 
Pacific  Railway,  414 
Pacific  Telegraph,  412 
Parke,  Benjamin,  196 
Parkman,  Francis,  129  ;  quoted, 

280 

Parrant,  270 
Parraquia,  464 
Parson,  Samuel  H.,  6 
Parton,  James,  quoted,  8l 
Paty,  Capt.,  660 
Payne,  U.  S.  Senator,  31 
Peck,  Eben,  240 
Peck,  P.  F.  W.,  209 
Peoria,  206 

Peralta,  Gov.  Pedro,  453 
Perez,  Gov.  Albino,  468 
Perouse,  Count,  627,  629 
Perrot,  129,  132 
Perry,  first  settler  at  St.  Paul, 

270 

Perry,  President  Alfred  Tyler,  26 
Perry's  victory,  Commodore,  116 
Pettygrove,  F.  W.,  554 
Phelan,  Mayor  James  D.,  610 
Philadelphia,  90,  193 
Philippines,  the,  195,  572,  649 
Pico,  Don  Pio,  655,  660,  664  ff. 
Pico,  Jesus,  669 
Piernas,  340,  342 
"  Pig's  Eye,"  see  Parrant 
Pike,    Lieut.  Zebulon  M.,   267, 

348,  430,  434,  467 
Pike's  Peak,  436,  437,  442 
Pillsbury,  Chas.  A.,  283 
Pillsbury,    Gov.    John    S.,  285, 

288 
Pina,  Maxima,  658 ' 


Pioneer  Day,  483 
Pirates  on  the  Mississippi,  346 
Pittsburg,  196 
Platteville,  238 
Plymouth,  2,  5,  88 
Plymouth  Rock,  620 
Plympton,  Major,  272 
Polk,  President,  552 
Pontiac,  conspiracy  of,  106-109, 
136-140,   175 ;  death  of,  337- 

339 

Pool,  Lieut.,  in 

Pope,  conspiracy  of,  458-461 

Portala,  622,  623,  650 

Portland,  Thos.  L.  Cole  on,  535- 
568  ;  origin  of,  535  ;  Astoria, 
536-544;  Vancouver,  544-549; 
Oregon  City,  549-556  ;  massa- 
cre of  Whitman,  556 ;  Cali- 
fornia gold  fever,  556  ;  situa- 
tion of,  557  ;  a  great  seaport, 
558;  Henry  Villard's  contribu- 
tion to  growth  of,  560 ;  char- 
acter of,  562-568 

Portsmouth,  the,  581 

Potosi,  academy  at,  352 

"  Prairie  Schooner,"  384 

Pratt,  Orson,  483,  486 

Prentice,  Samuel,  660 

Pueblo  de  Nuestra  Senora  la 
Reina  de  los  Angeles,  646^". 

Pursley,  468 

Putnam,  Herbert,  285 

Putnam,  Israel,  at  Detroit,  109 

Putnam,  Rufus,  2,  4-7,  26,  28 


Quebec,  91,  134,  198,  338 
R 

Racine,  238 
Radisson,  129 
Ragan,  Jacob,  395 
Raleigh  Tavern,  628 
Ralston,  A.,  147 
Ramsey,  Gov.  A.,  271 


698 


Index 


Rantoul,  Robert,  273 

Reavis,  L.  U.,  331 

Recollets,  129,  134,  266 

Red  Jacket,  338 

Reedy,  William  Marion,  on  St. 

Louis,  331-373 
Reid,  Hugo,  672 
Relations,  129,  130 
Republic,   The  St.  Louis,  349 
Republican,  The  Missouri,  362 
Republican,  The  Santa  Fe",  474 
Revolution,   the   American,    82, 

95,   109-112,    177,    266,    342; 

officers  in,  buried  at  Marietta, 

27 

Revolution  of  1848,  364 
Rezanoff    visits    San    Francisco 

Bay,  579 

Rhode  Island,  battle  of,  5 
Rhodes,  J.  F.,  50 
Richelieu,  Cardinal,  88  ;  quoted, 

225 

Ridgely,  N.  H.,  220 
Rivet,  M.,  193 
Roberts,  Capt.,  141 
Rockefeller,    John    D.,    founds 

Chicago  University,  229 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company, 

431 

Rosas,  Gov.  Luis,  458 
Rosewater,  Edward,  420 
Rosewater,  Victor,    on    Omaha, 

401-423 

Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  309 
Roux,  Father,  381 
Russian  Fur  Company,  543 
Rutland   and    the    Ohio    Com- 
pany, 7 

S 

Sacramento,  608 

Saengerbund,  the  Cincinnati,  74 

St.  Ange,  174,  176,  177 

St.  Ann's,  Mackinac,  125 

St.  Anthony  City,  273 

St.  Anthony,  Falls  of,  265,  267, 

272 
St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  449 


St.  Charles,  Col.,  436 

St.  Clair,  Gen.,  at  Marietta,io; 
defeat  of,  60-62,  64-68  ;  and 
Vincennes,  191 

St.  Clair,  Louisa,  15 

St.  Cyr,  Father,  205 

St.  Francis,  569,  574,  620 

St.  Ignace,  133,  136,  141 

St.  Joseph,  385 

St.  Louis,  W.  M.  Reedy  on,  331- 
373  ;  situation,  331  ;  founding 
of,  333-335;  Spanish  rule,  335- 
346  ;  coming  of  Pontiac,  337— 
340  ;  trade  of,  346-348  ;  early 
description  of,  348-353  ;  and 
the  slavery  question,  353-357  ; 
growing  Americanism,  357- 
362  ;  ante-bellum  days,  362- 
366  ;  in  the  Civil  War,  366  ; 
recent  history,  366-373  ' 

St.  Paul,  see  Minneapolis 

St.  Petersburg,  351 

Ste.  Genevieve,  344 

Salazar,  Don  Jose,  669 

Salt  Lake  City,  684  ;  J.  E.  Tal- 
mage  on,  479—508  ;  motive  of 
settlement,  479-482;  the  com- 
ing of  the  Mormons,  482-488; 
the  cricket  scourge,  488;  crea- 
tion of  the  Territory,  489-493; 
trouble  with  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment, 494-499:  educational 
development,  500-502  ;  the 
present  city,  502-508 

San  Bias,  harbor  of,  626 

San  Carlos  Mission,  632,  650 

Sanchez,  651,  661 

San  Diego,  627,  648,  649,  666 

Sand  Lot  Agitation,  598 

San  Francisco,  197,  515,528,632; 
Edwin  Markham  on,  569-616; 
situation,  569  ;  early  visitors  to 
the  region,  570-572  ;  Spanish 
colonization  plans,  572-574  ; 
the  Mission  Dolores,  574-579; 
Yerba  Buena,  579-581  ;  Cali- 
fornia ceded  to  United  States, 
582  ;  the  gold  fever,  582-586  ; 


Index 


699 


San  Francisco — continued. 

the  Vigilance  Committee,  587- 
594  ;  in  the  Civil  War,  596  ; 
the  Comstock  Lode,  597 ;  the 
Sand  Lot  Agitation,  598-601  ; 
the  Chinese  problem,  601-606; 
architecture  of,  606;  streets  of, 
607  ;  parks  of,  608-610  ;  edu- 
cation in,  610 ;  libraries  of, 
612 ;  distinguished  citizens, 
613-616 

San  Gabriel,  452,  453,  454,  648, 
650  ff. 

San  Miguel  Chapel,  454,  459, 
460,  463,  464 

San  Pedro,  648,  674 

Santa  Anna,  385 

Santa  Cruz,  622 

Santa  Fe,  384,  386,  431,  432, 
660  ;  F.  W.  Hodge  on,  449- 
478  ;  founding  of,  449-453  ; 
infancy  of,  453-458;  conspiracy 
of  Pope,  458-461  ;  the  Pueblo 
regime,  461  ;  Spanish  restora- 
tion, 462-468  ;  rebellion  of 
1837,  468  ;  American  occu- 
pancy, 469-476  ;  in  the  Civil 
War,  476  ;  recent  years,  476- 
478 

Santo  Domingo,  466 

Sargent,  Winthrop,  6,  191 

Schmidt,  Bruno,  162 

Schoolcraft,  Henry,  125,  202 ; 
quoted,  140 

Scott,  Dred,  270 

Scott,  Harvey  W.,  566 

Scott,  Judge  J.  R.,  672 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  268,  305, 
306 

Seattle,  363 

Senator,  the,  674 

Serra,  see  Jum'pero  Serra 

Shafer,  Sara  Andrew,  on  Macki- 
nac,  121-145 

Shaw,  Henry,  369 

Shawbonee  quoted,  206,  208 

Shelby,  Gen.  Isaac,  114,  note 

Shepard,  Elihu,  354;  quoted,  341 


Sheridan,  Phil,  517 

Sherman,  John,  31 

Sherman,  Gen.  W.  T.,  593 

Sia,  466 

Sibley  at  Valverde,  476 

Sibley,  Hiram,  413 

Sibley,  Solomon,  202 

Sill,  E.  R.,  51 

Sloat,  Commodore,  581,  635 

Slough,  Col.,  476 

Smith,  Robert,  274,  275 

Smith,  W.  H.,  on  Vincennes, 
169-196 

Snelling,  Col.,  268,  270 

Snelling,  Joseph,  270 

Snow,  Erastus,  483 

Sola,  655 

Spain,  and  the  Southwest,  67, 
1 80,  343  ;  Louisiana  ceded  to, 
335-337  ;  in  Colorado,  428  ;  in 
Kansas,  428  ;  in  New  Mexico, 
see  Santa  Fe ;  on  the  Pacific, 
572,  573,  620,  630-634  ;  our 
war  with,  422 

Speelyai,  512,  513,  517,  533 

Spencer,  Dr.  Kirby,  284 

Spokane,  Harold  Bolce  on,  509- 
533  ;  the  situation,  509-512, 
528  ;  the  falls,  512-515  ; 
troubles  with  the  Indians,  516- 
521;  genesis  of,  521;  discovery 
of  galena  mines,  522 ;  the 
boom,  523-525  ;  character  of, 
526-528;  the  Spokane  ass,  530- 
532  ;  climate,  532 

Spokane  Gary,  520 

Spokesman-Review,  The  Spokane, 

524 

Sproat,  6,  10,  15 
Stanford,  Jane,  612,  639 
Stanford,  Leland,  612 
Stanford  University,  612 
Star,  The,  582 
Star,  The  Kansas  City,  392 
Stark,  B.,  554 
State  Register,  319 
Stearns,  Abel,  665 
Steele,  Franklin,  272 


;oo 


Index 


Steptoe,  Col.,  518 
Stevens,  John  H.,  274,  275 
Stevenson,  Col.,  670 
Stevenson,   R.  L.,  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, 609  ;  in  Monterey,  619, 

639 

Stillwater,  Minn.,  271 

Stockton,  Commodore,  665^". 

Stoddard,  Charles  Warren,  615 

Stoddard,  Maj.  Amos,  348 

Story  preaches  at  Marietta,  16 

Stout,  J.   Kennedy,  drafts  char- 
ter for  Spokane,  522 

Strong,  W.  A.,  389 

Stuart,  David,  542 

Stuart,  John  T.,  quoted,  214 

Sublette,  431,  468 

Sullivan  claims,  532 

Sulpicians  at  Mackinac,  129 

Sumrill's  Ferry,  7 

Sutro,  Adolph,  613 

Suiter's  Mill,  401 

Swing,  David,  232 

Symmes,  John  Cleves,  58,  71 


Taboada,  Padre  Gil,  656 
Taliafero,  Major,  270 
Talmage,  J.   E.,  on    Salt    Lake 

City,  479-508 

Tanos  of  Galisteo,  the,  461,462 
Taylor,  Bayard,  cited,  243 
Taylor,  Zachary,  305 
Tecumseh,  61,  70,  192,  201,  206, 

52t 

Teesdale,  John,  319 
Terry  and  Broderick,  593,  596 
Texas,   annexation   of,  195; 

troubles    with,   469  ;    in   New 

Mexico,  469,  476 
Tewa  pueblo,  452 
Thames,  battle  of  the,  206 
Thayendanegea  defeats  St.  Clair, 

61 

Thiery,  M.,  12 
Thompson,  David,  540 
Thompson,  James,  208 


Thwaites,  R.  G.,   on   Madison, 

235-264 
Thwing,    C.  F.,  on    Cleveland, 

31-53 

Times,  The  Kansas  City,  392 

Tippecanoe,  70,  350,  513 

Tlascalan,  459 

Todd,  Col.  John,  191 

Tomlinson,  Daniel,  157 

Tonquiit,  the,  539,  542 

Tonty,  Madame,  91 

Topinebee,  204 

Trail,  Navajo,  427 ;  Santa  Fe, 
428,  467 

Trans  -  Mississippi  Exposition, 
420-423 

Trappist  monks,  302 

Treaty,  of  Paris,  140  ;  of  Green- 
ville, 201  ;  of  Ghent,  544 ;  of 
1832,  305  ;  of  1842,  306 ;  of 
1846,  552  ;  of  Guadaloupe 
Hidalgo,  489,  595 

Tribune,  The  New  York,  243, 
438 

Troost,  B.,  380 

Tupper,  Benjamin,  2,  6 

Twain,  Mark,  615 


u 


Ugarte,  Gov.,  466 

"  Underground  Railroad,"  92, 
3i8 

Union  Pacific  Railway,  388,  415, 
442,  500 

United  States,  and  the  North- 
west Territory,  140,  178,  191, 
267 ;  Keokuk  reserve  ceded 
to,  305  ;  and  Salt  Lake  City, 
490  ;  and  California,  580 

University  of  Southern  Califor- 
nia, 682 

Utah,  see  Salt  Lake  City 


Valverde,  fight  at,  476 
Vancouver,  history  of,  546-549 


Index 


701 


Vancouver  the  explorer,  537, 
627 

Van  Horn,  Col.  R.  T.,  389,  390 

Vargas,  Gov.,  462-464 

Varnum,  James  M.,  6 

Vasouver,  Lieut.,  552 

Victoria,  Gov.,  662 

Vigil,  Gov.  Juan  B.,  472 

Vigilance  Committee,  see  San 
Francisco 

Vigo,  Francis,  185,  186,  190 

Villard,  Henry,  560 

Vincennes,  150,  152  ;  W.  H. 
Smith  on,  169-196 ;  pre-his- 
toric  times,  169-171  ;  early 
explorers,  171  ;  French  settle- 
ment of,  173-175  ;  English 
rule,  175-178  ;  captured  by 
George  Rogers  Clark,  178- 
191  ;  Indiana  Territory  or- 
ganized, 191  ;  later  history, 
193-196 

Vineyard,  James  R.,  246 

Virginia  cedes  western  territory 
to  United  States,  191 

Vi/caino,  572,  574,  620,  622, 
643,  648 

W 

Wabache,  see  Wabash 

Wabash,  place  of  the,  in  history, 
169,  170,  171,  189 

Wade,  J.  H.,  413 

Walker,  Joel,  468 

Walker,  T.  B.,  287 

Wallace,  Col.,  relieves  Cincin- 
nati, 74 

Wallace,  Gen.  Lew,  at  Cincin- 
nati, 78  ;  at  Santa  Fe,  478 

Walla  Walla,  518;  massacre  at, 
556 

Walrond,  Madison,  380 

War,  see  Revolution ;  of  1812, 
27,  114-116,  140-142,  351; 
Mexican,  432,  469,  580  ;  Civil, 
476,  498,  521,  614;  with 
Spain,  422 

Ward,  Artemus,  50 


Warre,  Lieut.,  552 
Washburn  Observatory,  256 
Washington,  Booker  T.,  233 
Washington,  George,  5,   58,  66- 

68,  197,  644 

Washington,  Indians  visit,  350 
Wayne,   Gen.   Anthony,  defeats 

Indians,  15,  68-72,  152 
Wea  Town,  172,  175 
Webster,    Daniel,  84,  311,  312, 

362,  479 

Wentworth,  John,  205 
West,  Judge  E.  P.,  quoted,  380 
Western  Journal  of  Commerce, 

389 

Western  Reserve,  the,  40 
Western  Reserve  University,  39 
Westport  Landing,  382,  384 
Wetherell,  O.  D.,  213 
Whaiama,  513 
Whetzels,  the,  152 
Whininger,  George,  420 
Whipple,  Abraham,  6 
Whitman,  massacre  of,  556 
Wicks,  Rev.  Dr.,  674 
Widney,  Dr.  J.  P.,  682 
Wiggin,  Kate  Douglas,  615 
Wilkinson,  Gen.  James,  349 
Willamette,  first  settlers  on  the, 

549-552 

Willamette  Falls,  552 
Williams  College,  37 
Williams,  Rev.  Eleazar,  144, 

145 

Williams,  Judge  George  H., 
566 

Williamsburg,  Col.  Henry  Ham- 
ilton sent  to,  190 

Willis,  N.  P.,  270 

Wilson,  B.  D.,  672 

Winslow,  Florence  E.,  on  Los 
Angeles,  645-684 

Winter  Quarters,  Nebraska,  408, 
409 

Wisconsin  State  Historical  So- 
ciety, 258 

Wisconsin  Territory,  235 

Wolfe  at  Quebec,  106 


7O2 


Index 


Wood,  C.  E.  S.,  566 
Woodbridge,  Dudley,  21 
Woodward,   Judge,    at    Detroit, 

101-105 

Wool,  Gen.,  592 
Woolson,   Constance  Fenimore, 

50 

Woolworth,  James  M.,  420 
World's  Fair  of  1893,  228 
Wright,  Ed.,  320 
Wright,  Col.  George,  518,  520, 

521 

Wuerz,  August,  Sr.,  390 
Wyandotte,  376,  392 
Wyeth,  Capt.,  544 
Wyeth  Expedition,  558 
Wyoming  Massacre,  6l,  no 

X 

Xenophon  cited,  569 


Yale  University,  39,  229 
Yeatman's  Tavern,  76 
Yellowstone  Park,  355 
Yerba  Buena,  579,  581 
Yorktown,  battle  of,  5 
Young,  Brigham,  408,  409,  482, 

496 

Yukewingge,  452 
Yuqueyunque,  452 


"  Zanjero,"  678 

Zion,  408,  409 

Zion's    Co-operative   Mercantile 

Union,  493 
Zuni,  452 


merican      istoric 


Historic  Towns  of  New  England 

Edited  by  LYMAN  P.  POWELL.     With  introduction  by 

GEORGE  P.  MORRIS.    With  161  illustrations.    Large 

8°,  gilt  top         .  .         .        .  net  $3  oo 

CONTENTS  :    Portland,  by  Samuel  T.   Pickard  ;   Rutland,  by 

Edwin  D.   Mead  ;  Salem,  by  George  D.   Latimer  ;   Boston,  by 

Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson  ;  Cambridge,  by  Samuel  A.  Eliot  ; 

Concord,  by  Frank  A.  Sanborn  ;  Plymouth,   by   Ellen  Watson  ; 

Cape    Cod    Towns,    by    Katharine    Lee    Bates  ;    Deerfield,   by 

George  Sheldon  ;  Newport,  by  Susan  Coolidge  ;  Providence,  by 

William    B.    Weeden  ;  Hartford,    by    Mary    K.    Talcott  ;   New 

Haven,  by  Frederick  Hull  Cogswell. 

"  These  monographs  have  permanent  literary  and  historical  value.  They 
are  from  the  pens  of  authors  who  are  saturated  with  their  themes,  and  do  not 
write  to  order,  but  con  amore.  The  beautiful  letterpress  adds  greatly  to  the 
attractiveness  of  the  book."  —  The  Watchman. 

"  The  authors  of  the  Boston  papers  have  succeeded  in  presenting  a  wonderfully 
interesting  account  in  which  none  of  the  more  important  events  have  been 
omitted.  .  ._  .  the  quaint  Cape  Cod  towns  that  nave  clung  tenaciously  to 
their  old-fashioned  ways  are  described  with  a  characteristic  vividness  by  Miss 
Bares.  .  .  .  The  other  papers  are  presented  in  a  delightfully  attractive 
manner  that  will  serve  to  make  more  deeply  cherished  the  memory  of  the  places 
described."  —  New  York  Times. 


Historic  Towns  of  the  Middle  States 

Edited  by  LYMAN  P.  POWELL.  With  introduction  by 
Dr.  ALBERT  SHAW.  With  135  illustrations.  Large 
8°,  gilt  top  .  net  $3  Oo 

CONTENTS  :  Albany,  by  W.  W.  Battershall  ;  Saratoga,  by 
Ellen  H.  Walworth  ;  Schenectady,  by  Judson  S.  Landon ;  New- 
burgh,  by  Adelaide  Skeel ;  Tarrytown,  by  H.  W.  Mabie  ;  Brook- 
lyn, by  Harrington  Putnam  ;  New  York,  by  J.  B.  Gilder  ;  Buffalo, 
by  Rowland  B.  Mahany  ;  Pittsburgh,  by  S.  H.  Church ;  Phila- 
delphia, by  Talcott  Williams  ;  Princeton,  by  W.  M.  Sloane ; 
Wilmington,  by  E.  N.  Vallandigham. 

"  Mr.  Powell's  contributors  have  prepared  a  most  interesting  collection  of 
papers  on  important  landmarks  of  the  Middle  States.  The  writers  enter  into  the 
history  of  their  respective  towns  with  much  elaborateness." — N.  Y.  Tribune. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London 


Historic  Towns  of  the  Southern  States 

Edited  by  LYMAN  P.  POWELL.  With  introduction  by 
W.  P.  TRENT.  With  about  175  illustrations.  Large 
8°,  gilt  top  ....  .  .  .  net  $3  oo 

CONTENTS  :  Baltimore,  By  St.  George  L.  Sioussat ;  Annapolis 
and  Frederick,  by  Sara  Andrew  Shafer  ;  Washington,  by  F.  A. 
Vanderlip  ;  Richmond,  by  William  Wirt  Henry  ;  Williamsburg, 
by  Lyon  G.  Tyler  ;  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  by  J.  B.  Cheshire ; 
Charlestown,  by  Yates  Snowden  ;  Savannah,  by  Pleasant  A. 
Stoval ;  St.  Augustine,  by  G.  R.  Fairbanks  ;  Mobile,  by  Peter 
J.  Hamilton  ;  Montgomery,  by  George  Petrie  ;  New  Orleans, 
by  Grace  King  ;  Vicksburg,  by  H.  F.  Simrall  ;  Knoxville,  by 
Joshua  W.  Caldwell  ;  Nashville,  by  Gates  P.  Thruston  ;  Louis- 
ville, by  Lucien  V.  Rule  ;  Little  Rock,  by  George  B.  Rose. 

"  This  very  charming  volume  is  so  exquisitely  gotten  up,  the  scheme  is  so 
perfect,  the  seventeen  writers  have  done  their  work  with  such  historical  accuracy 
and  with  such  literary  skill,  the  illustrations  are  so  abundant  and  so  artistic,  that 
all  must  rejoice  that  Mr.  Powell  ever  attempted  to  make  the  historical  pilgrim- 
ages."— Journal  of  Education. 


Historic  Towns  of  the  Western  States 

Edited  by  LYMAN  P.  POWELL.  With  introduction  by 
R.  G.  THWAITES.  With  218  illustrations.  Large  8°, 
gilt  top.  (By  mail  $3.25)  .  .  .  net  $3  oo 

CONTENTS  :  Detroit,  by  Silas  Farmer ;  Chicago,  by  Hon.  Lyman 
T.  Gage  ;  St.  Louis,  by  F.  M.  Crunden  ;  Monterey,  by  Harold 
Bake  ;  San  Francisco,  by  Edwin  Markham ;  Portland,  by  Rev. 
Thomas  L.  Cole  ;  Madison,  by  Prof.  R.  G.  Thwaites  ;  Kansas 
City,  by  Charles  S.  Gleed  ;  Cleveland,  by  President  Charles  F. 
Thwing ;  Cincinnati,  by  Hon.  M.  E.  Ailes ;  Marietta,  by  Muriel 
C.  Dyar ;  Des  Moines,  by  Dr.  F.  I.  Herriot ;  Indianapolis,  by 
Hon.  Perry  S.  Heath  ;  Denver,  by  J.  C.  Dana  ;  Omaha,  by  Dr. 
Victor  Rosewater ;  Los  Angeles,  by  Florence  E.  Winslow  ;  Salt 
Lake  City,  by  Prof.  James  E.  Talmage  ;  Minneapolis  and  St. 
Paul,  by  Hon.  Charles  B.  Elliott;  Santa  Pe",  by  Dr.  F.  W. 
Hodge  ;  Vincennes,  by  W.  H.  Smith. 


Q.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,   New  York  and  London 


